Last to Know
by Fenris242
Summary: Elena walks into the kitchen to find not one but two bodies on the floor. She doesn't know how they got there, but she knows at least one of them will be avenged! *picks up exactly where the S1 finale left off* **CD**
1. Left for Dead

A/N: okay this is out a couple days earlier than i had planned, but when i sat down to start plotting this i couldn't help but type this out...it came quickly and surely...hope you guys like it...

-Fen

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_**And when she leaves you for dead, you'll be the last to know...**_

Elena walked into the kitchen cautiously. Upon entering her house, she'd heard a strange noise in the kitchen. All of her past experiences should have taught her to run in the opposite direction; not walk toward the noise. Elena was not known for following her most primal instincts. So when she entered the kitchen and saw her Uncle John, recently discovered to be her birth father, slumped on the floor, a knife in his chest and a pool of blood around his body, her initial reaction was to shriek; but it was the discovery of a second body slumped on the floor that stopped her from doing just that. She couldn't see the body of the second victim, but she'd recognize those boots anywhere. Hoping that somehow it wasn't who she thought it was, she walked around the island, avoiding John's limp feet in the process.

With a sharp intake of breath, her hand reached to her mouth as tears sprouted from her eyes. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, staring at the body of her boyfriend's brother. The vampire she'd come to consider as close a friend as those she'd had for a lifetime. His eyes were open but glassed over. Three wooden stakes protruded from his chest. Even with her human noise, the smell of vervain could not be mistaken. Before Elena could try to react, two strong arms were wrapped around her body and pulling her from the kitchen. It was later when Elena recognized that it had been Stefan that pulled her from the kitchen.

With Alaric's help, Stefan was able to get John Gilbert's body out of the kitchen and the floor cleaned up of his blood. "What can we do for him?" Alaric asked as he squatted on the floor next to Damon's body.

"First thing is to get those stakes out of him."

Alaric nodded his head, understanding that Stefan wouldn't be able to touch the soaked stakes without risking his own strength. Reaching forward, he pulled out one stake, followed by the second. His hand was on the third stake when Stefan put his hand on top of Alaric's. "That one is close to the heart. Please be careful." Alaric nodded his head once again, and gently but forcefully pulled the final stake out of Damon's body.

Stefan had expected his brother to jump up once the stakes were pulled from his body, but instead Damon's body just slumped further onto the floor. "Is he supposed to do that?"

Stefan shook his head in response to Alaric's question. Honestly, Stefan had no idea what Damon's body should be doing. Even as strong as Damon was, Stefan didn't know if he'd be able to survive this. "I need to get him back to the boarding house."

"My car's out front. Can you get him to it?"

Stefan nodded, and carefully picked up his brother's body. Damon's head fell back as Stefan carried his dead weight. Alaric moved and opened the front door, followed by the back door of his car. As Stefan was placing Damon's body in the car, Alaric turned to go back to the house. He was going to explain to Jenna that something came up and he wouldn't be able to stay as they had planned, but instead, he ran into Elena. "Elena. Come on, we need to get you back inside."

"Where are you taking him?" Her eyes never left Damon's body.

"Stefan wants to take him back to the boarding house."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. Come on. I have to talk to Jenna before we leave. Let's get you back in the house. We don't know who or what did this to Damon, and the safest place for you is inside your house."

Elena snapped out of her trance. "No." Stubbornly, she looked at Alaric. "The safest place for me is with Stefan and Damon. Whoever did this has been in my house. If you're taking them back to the boarding house, that's where I'm going." Elena didn't give Alaric room to argue, as she opened the back door that Stefan had just closed and squeezed her body into the back seat with Damon's. Stefan was already seated in the passenger seat, waiting for Alaric.

"Elena? What are you doing?"

"Going where I belong." She left no room for argument. Stefan looked at Alaric, whom just shrugged his shoulders. It was apparent that once a Gilbert made up their mind, there was no sense arguing with them.

Holding up a finger, Alaric motioned he would be right back.

Alaric was back outside before Elena had even registered he'd gone in the house. He'd explained to Jenna that something came up and he would call her the following day. He just hoped she didn't find John's body that Stefan had hid in the back yard before then.

Looking in the backseat, Alaric saw that Elena had positioned Damon's head in her lap. She stroked his hair and face as she tried her best to sooth him. He wasn't showing any signs of pain or life for that matter, but it didn't stop Elena from trying. Getting in the drivers' seat, Alaric headed in the direction of the boarding house.

They were about half way there, when Elena spoke up from the back seat. "How did you know to come?" She was looking at Stefan.

Stefan turned so he could look at her to respond. "After I got off the phone with you, I saw I had a message from Damon." Elena cocked her head, curious. "It was just three words. _Elena's house, now_. I didn't know what was going on, but I came as quickly as I could."

"Who do you think did this?" Elena was asking the question out loud and didn't expect an answer from either Stefan or Alaric, but she received one anyone.

"Whoever did it is obviously stronger than Damon or myself, but that's not really narrowing down the options."

"Maybe he saw who it was." Elena offered, hoping that Damon would snap out of this so that he could tell them who they had to hunt down and kill. _Yes. Kill. Not because they killed Uncle John, but...because they hurt Damon._ Elena couldn't stop the thought from entering her mind.

"And if he didn't, I'm sure he'll know where to start looking." Alaric added. It was obvious by Damon's message that he knew there was a threat in the house. Apparently he was right since John Gilbert was dead. Not that any of them would put it past Damon to kill him, but if he had, who put the stakes in his body. No. Whoever killed John, tried to kill Damon. Damon was the strongest vampire Alaric had ever come across. Stronger than his age should have allowed, and to think that something stronger had done this literally scared Alaric. Aside from that, the killer obviously knew that John's ring protected him, which meant they also knew that Alaric's ring protected him. This was certainly going to get interesting.

Arriving at the boarding house, Elena moved so Stefan could pull Damon's body from the car. It only took Stefan a few seconds to get Damon up to his room and into his bed. Elena was shortly behind him with a few bags of blood. Stefan tried to take the blood, but Elena shook her head and sat down on the edge of Damon's bed, next to his lifeless body.

"Elena, in his current state, he won't be able to drink the blood."

"Then how-"

Stefan started rolling up Damon's sleeve. Elena understood. She stood quickly and removed her belt, handing to Stefan to use as a tourniquet. Stefan gave Elena instruction on where to find an IV. Elena momentarily thought it odd that they would have such things in their home, but then again, they were vampires. She returned to Damon's room with the proper instruments and Stefan quickly inserted the needle into one of Damon's puffed veins. Elena helped take the needle down and asked Stefan how to switch the bags once one was empty.

Stefan was shocked by Elena's insistence in helping, but allowed her nonetheless. Once he showed her, she pushed him from the room, telling him to start looking for whoever did this.

"Elena-"

"No Stefan; you need to go and to figure this out in case he doesn't wake up." Elena pushed him from the bedroom before resuming her position next to Damon on his bed.


	2. New Resident

A/N: i forgot to mention in the first chapter that this was all spawned from a 3DG song of the same title...thank you everyone for the great response on the first chapter...hopefully you'll like the second one just as much...

-Fen

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_**And for the first time, I've opened my eyes...**_

Elena sat on the bed and watched the crimson liquid flow into Damon's open vein. After switching to the third bag, Elena noticed the state of Damon's clothes. His boots were still on his feet. His button down shirt had three fresh holes in it and was almost completely soaked in blood. Elena didn't know if it was just his blood, or if John's blood was mixed in as well. Making the decision that he needed to be comfortable, Elena stood from her spot on the edge of his bed and removed his boots. He didn't move at the motion, and Elena took that as a good sign. She quickly pulled his socks off while she was at his feet. Looking around the room, her eyes found a pair of scissors on a table. Grabbing them, she walked back over to the side of the bed. _He's gonna kill me when he finds out I did this_. Elena used the scissors to cut up both of the sleeves of the shirt. There was really no sense in keeping the garment. Not with the extra holes in the front, and she didn't want to risk removing it and pulling out the IV that was pumping the much needed blood into his body. So cut off the shirt it was.

Elena pulled the shirt from under his heavy body while sneaking a curious look at his body. She'd only seen him once with his shirt slightly open, and her heart beat in circles then. This time, he was completely removed of his shirt, and Elena couldn't resist the urge. A smile crossed her face as she took in his alabaster skin that look more like a chiseled marble statue than a flesh and bone body. Shaking her head to snap out of her daydream, she was happy to know that Damon hadn't regained consciousness yet. He would have easily known exactly what she was thinking as her rapid heart beat would have given her away.

Looking over him one more time, she didn't want to just pull the covers up over his body, but she also didn't want to remove his jeans and risk finding out if Damon was a commando kinda guy. _Elena, you're a big girl._ Running her finger along the inside of the waist of his jeans, she confirmed that he was in fact wearing some form of undergarment. _Pajamas it is then_. Elena walked to his dresser and thought for a moment. Opening the last drawer, she was surprised to find that he kept his pajamas in the same place she did. Grabbing a pair of black cotton pants, she moved back over to the bed. Slowly pulling the buckle on his jeans and unzipping them, Elena worked the material down his body over his hips, down his thighs and finally to his calves and off his feet. She struggled slightly getting them over his hips, but he shifted slightly in the bed making it easier for her. She momentarily thought he was playing with her. If he was, he was certainly doing a very convincing job of it.

Once the jeans were on the pile with his shirt, as they were also soaked in blood, Elena worked the pajama pants up his body. Not wanting to try to get a shirt on him, Elena pulled the covers up over his body and tucked them under his chin; making sure that the pillow behind his head was fluffed and his head comfortably laying on it.

Satisfied that even if he didn't know what was going on, he was comfortable, Elena retreated to the chair next to his bed and sat down. She didn't want to leave him by himself, but she didn't really know what else she could do. She was exhausted, but couldn't force herself to go to sleep even if she wanted to. Instead, she picked up the book that was sitting on the table next to the chair and started to flip through it. Apparently, Damon had been reading up on Charlemagne. _Strange. I would've expected Stalin or Henry the VIII or even Louis XIV, but not Charlemagne._ Elena flipped through the pages as her eyes grew heavier and heavier.

While Elena struggled with getting Damon changed, Stefan and Alaric were brainstorming in the den. The possibilities were endless as to who _could_ have done it. There were an uncountable number of vampires that were older than both Stefan and Damon. Anyone of them could have done it. "We need to focus this to who _would_ have done this or we can sit here all night while I name the vampires that I know could've done this and it still wouldn't be a complete list."

"Well, it'd have to someone with a grudge against both John and Damon, right?"

"It's as good a place as any to start."

"I guess the obvious would be vampires from the tomb."

"They were all killed tonight by the Council."

"We can't be sure of that. We don't know if all of them were there tonight." Stefan thought about it a moment longer. "Besides, I don't think any of them would be stronger enough to take Damon down. I don't know how, but he's stronger than he should be for his age."

Alaric's next suggestion came swiftly after Stefan's dismissal of the tombed vampires. "Isobel?"

"As much as I'd like to agree, she's not strong enough. She's Damon's childe. She couldn't take him down, even if he wasn't ready for the attack." Alaric nodded. Putting his face in his hands, he was trying to force his mind to come up with the right answer when Stefan spoke again. "Anna." He whispered more like he was thinking out loud than actually giving a suggestion. "No, couldn't be. She burned in the basement, and she never really had anything against Damon."

"What about the Founding Families?" Alaric offered.

"They don't have a grudge with Damon. Hell, they don't even know he's a vampire. He did mention that Mayor Lockwood was in the basement, but he was killed down there. Again, why would they kill John Gilbert? He was helping them."

"I don't know. I just want an answer!" Alaric was getting angry. They'd had a long night already and this was just adding to his frustration and lack of sleep. With his outburst, came an idea, and apparently it was the same idea that Stefan had since they both said, "Katherine," at exactly the same time.

"She'd have every reason to hate John Gilbert." Stefan offered. "But Damon? He's spent his entire undead life trying to get her out of that tomb."

"But he's moved on." Alaric didn't need to say anything further, and he didn't want to on that subject. "Maybe he tried to protect John from Katherine for Elena's sake?"

"But why would Katherine be carrying around vervain soaked stakes? No, this was premeditated."

"But who knew Damon was going to be there? He didn't even know."

"He texted me."

"Seemed last minute." Alaric argued.

"Then those stakes were meant for someone else." Stefan's mind started to turn at that thought. _The only vampire that has a steady invitation into the Gilbert house. The only vampire that should have been there that night. The only vampire that's been a regular guest in that house. _"Whoever it was wanted _me_ to be found in that kitchen. _Not_ Damon. He took those stakes for me." Stefan couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. His brother had, whether willingly or not, taken three vervain stakes for him. Maybe Damon was changing. Maybe he had already.

_

* * *

That was so familiar. Like I've done in a hundred times before. I know those lips. Katherine! That wasn't Elena. It was Katherine. Pulling my phone as I turn and race back toward Elena's house, I can only hope Stefan will get this message in time._

_Skipping the front door, I run to the back door and enter into the kitchen. There's nothing I can do to stop Katherine from running a knife into John Gilbert's chest. Not that I really would have stopped her from killing that asshole, but I won't let her hurt Elena. "Katherine, what have you done?"_

_She shrugs at me, "Loose ends."_

_I watch as John's eyes close. Katherine lets go of him and his body falls to the floor. Dead. "Who's next? Isobel?"_

"_Eventually." Katherine's lips curl around her teeth as she walks towards me. It's vicious and cruel. Menacing and threatening. Aggressive and powerful. Sexy and attractive. I'm reminded of exactly why I fell in love with her all those years ago. She's exudes pure unadulterated power. But I can't help but think what will happen if Elena walks through that doorway right now. I'll rip her head off and bathe in her blood. Only after that will I shed tears while I lean into Elena's shoulder as she tries to comfort me; while I mourn the death of the woman that turned me into a vampire. _

_I try to maneuver my way to block the entrance way from the front door, but Katherine anticipated my move. With a gloved hand – _when did she put a glove on? - _I feel the first stake enter my gut quickly followed by two more stakes. The pain is excruciating and my feeble attempt at screaming in pain is muffled by the laughter that comes out of her mouth._

Damon's body lurched forward in the bed as he screamed out in pain causing Elena to jump from the chair she'd fallen asleep in. "I'm gonna fucking kill that bitch!" Elena heard his scream but didn't see him rise from the bed or flee from the room.

The next thing she heard was a crash down the hall. It sounded like a body going down the steps. Moving as quick as her human body would allow, Elena ran for the stairs. Reaching the top at the same time Stefan and Alaric reached the bottom, she saw Damon's body curled into a ball at the bottom. One of his legs was twisted unnaturally. Broken. Racing down the steps, she was next to Damon and trying to help him up.

Stefan motioned for her to move and she did. Quickly lifting his brother's weight, Stefan started for the steps, but Damon grabbed him around the throat and shoved as hard as he could pushing the two of them to the ground. "Don't touch me!" Damon's eyes were blood red and the veins under them clearly visible. Surprise was written all over Stefan's face. He was just trying to help Damon.

Elena put her hand on Damon's shoulder and he spun on her, looking as if he could rip apart limb from limb. Staggering toward her, he let his weight fall against her as they hit the wall. "Damon, the vervain is still in your system. You're weak. You need blood." Her mouth was close to his ear and she didn't to speak any louder than a whisper. "Let Stefan help-" Elena stopped talking as she felt Damon's head shaking next to hers. His forehead was leaning against the wall while his body kept her pinned to the wall. Stefan stood up and moved in on his brother but Elena raised her hand to stop him. "I can't get you up the stairs by myself." She whispered and could tell that Damon understood. "Alaric?" She asked, and he nodded.

Looking over Damon's shoulder, her eyes met Alaric's. Without a word, he moved forward. Looking at Stefan before he reached Damon and Elena, he tried his best to ensure he would protect Elena at all costs from Damon if for some reason things went south.

Stefan wanted to think that Damon wouldn't hurt Elena, but with his current state of mind, he couldn't be sure.

Alaric wrapped one of Damon's arms around his shoulder while Elena took the other. Slowly but surely, they got him up the stairs. Making their way down the hall, they entered Damon's bedroom once again. After getting him into the bed, Alaric looked at him. "Damon, who did this?"

Damon let his eyes slip closed.

"He needs to rest."

"His leg's broken. It'll need to be reset."

"Can you do that?"

Alaric smirked. "I have no idea where to even start."

Elena smiled. He was a history teacher after all, not a biology teacher. "Maybe tomorrow, he'll let Stefan look at it." Elena walked over to the bed and fixed the covers over Damon's body. "We should let him rest for now."

Alaric nodded his head in agreement and turned for the door. Elena moved to walk away from the body, but Damon's hand reached and grabbed her own. Pulling it closer to his body so it was hidden from view, Damon made it clear he was not sleeping like they had thought he was. "I'll be right down."

"Stefan and I have a good idea who's behind this. We'll talk when you get down there." Alaric said over his shoulder while he exited the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Elena looked down at Damon. His eyes were open and he was boring holes through her. "Damon, who did this to you?" He clenched his jaw as his eyes darkened. "Damon, we can't do anything if you don't tell us who did this."

"Stay here." Elena scrunched her face at him. "Live here." She tried to move away from him, but he held her hand fast. He wouldn't release her, but he wasn't hurting her. "If you live here, she can't come in."

Elena understood that. "Who can't come in?"

"Promise you'll live here." Damon refused to give up a name without her promise first. "It's the only way I can make sure you're safe, Elena."

Nodding her head, she consented. "I'll go to Aunt Jenna's tomorrow and grab my stuff. I don't think Stefan'll mind if I take one of the spare rooms."

Damon smiled. She was trying not to hurt his feelings by promising not to stay in his brother's bed. His eyes began to flutter as sleep and pain overtook him. "Katherine." It was a whisper that escaped his mouth as he fell back asleep.


	3. Best Views

_**You were the first to say, that we were not okay...**_

She smiled as she woke up with his strong arms wrapped around her. After the events of the night before, it was comforting and she felt safe. Immediately noting that he was still sleeping, Elena was content just staying there in the bed; until her stomach growled so loud she thought it would wake him up. Glancing over her shoulder to Stefan's sleeping face, she wedged her way out of his arms and tiptoed from the room. Even once she was in the hall, she continued to tiptoe until she was down the stairs and walking into the kitchen.

Rubbing at her eyes as she walked into the kitchen, she tried to hold back her yawn, but it forced itself out. She jumped slightly when her eyes opened after the yawn. "Damon? What are you doing down here?"

Damon had heard her the moment she woke up, but he assumed she would stay in bed with his brother. He'd already been downstairs, but his head wasn't in the fridge as it was when she came into the kitchen. Turning around, he shivered slightly as the cold air from the fridge disappeared from his body. "Same thing as you." Shooting her a predatory look, he continued, "Breakfast." His face melted into a smirk as he held up a bag of blood and container of yogurt. "Preference?"

Elena glared at him. "As if there's a choice. Yogurt." She made sure to clarify. Knowing Damon, he would have thrown her the blood.

Keeping his smirk and shrugging his shoulders, he tossed the yogurt at her. Elena fumbled to catch it as she hadn't been expecting him to throw the food at her. "How are you up and walking? You broke your leg last night falling down the steps."

Damon jutted his leg out so she could see it and twisted it slightly. "I put it back how it belonged." He turned away from her as he winced in pain, and pretended to be occupied with getting her a spoon while he waited for the pain to subside. Facing Elena, he held the spoon out in front of him.

Leery of what he was up to, Elena cautiously moved forward and stretched her hand out to take the spoon.

With speed Elena hadn't thought possible from a vampire that had been staked three times the night before, Damon wrapped his hand around her smaller one and pulled her closer to him. "Thank you."

Elena nodded as he released her hand and looked in the distance behind her.

"Damon." Stefan greeted as curtly as possible when he entered the kitchen.

"Stefan." Damon returned in the same voice, but rolled his eyes and swayed his hips mocking his younger brother.

"You're feeling better." Stefan commented, but Damon ignored him as he lifted the blood bag to his lips and emptied it into his mouth.

With his head tilted back and right arm up in the air holding the bag, Elena couldn't help but stare at his chest. Not that it wasn't a sight to be seen in and of itself, but her gaze was transfixed on three star shaped scars on his chest and abdomen. Pointing with her spoon, she asked, "Will those stay?"

Looking down at his body, Damon lightly fingered each scar. _Vervain_. Looking back up to Elena's face, he cocked an eyebrow, "If you think they're sexy, I'll keep them." He chuckled at the slight flush that covered her face. Damon rolled his eyes once again when Stefan turned and glared at him. Like he cared what Stefan thought. _Let's see how much more trouble I can cause._ With his attention back on Elena, he asked, "Is Sir Broodsalot taking you to get your things? Or should I come to pick out which panties I like better?"

Another glare from Stefan and a fresh flush on Elena. _Damon 2, Stefan 0, Elena -2._ Damon figured Elena hadn't mentioned that she would be moving into the boarding house to Stefan. Confident that he'd caused enough trouble for one morning, Damon walked out of the kitchen. _It only takes a couple seeds of doubt._ Damon held himself together until he reached the top of the stairs. Then he grabbed his leg and limped the rest of the way down the hall to his bedroom.

"What does he mean by getting your things?"

"It's nothing. I'm just going to move into the boarding house for a little while."

"Why?" Not that Stefan minded having his girlfriend living there, he just thought he should have been the one to offer, not his brother.

"Damon said it was the only way to keep me safe."

"Safe from what?"

Elena opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it. She'd heard Stefan and Alaric's theory that Katherine was behind the attack on Damon and the death of John Gilbert, but she didn't tell them what Damon had said to her. That was his place to talk about that. Besides, she only knew that it was in fact Katherine. She had no idea what happened the night before between Damon and Katherine. "Can we discuss that later when we come up with a game plan?" Elena eluded to Alaric coming to the boarding house that night like he and Stefan had agreed. They hoped that Damon would be somewhat mobile by then.

"Elena, what aren't you telling me?"

"Later, Stefan. Later." Moving forward, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips before disappearing upstairs to take a shower and get dressed.

It was around noon when Elena and Stefan arrived at the Gilbert House. Elena asked Stefan to wait outside. She didn't know how the conversation was going to go with Jenna, and she didn't want him being pulled into it.

Walking into the house, Elena called out to Jenna. "Elena. Everything okay? Ric said something happened to one of the Salvatore's last night. Is Stefan okay?"

"Stefan's fine, Aunt Jenna." Elena didn't know how to ask if she could move into the boarding house. "About that, I have a favor to ask."

Jenna looked at Elena questioningly. "Which is?"

_Now or never, Elena._ "Damon's pretty sick, and I was hoping to stay at the boarding house to help Stefan take care of him. Of course, if that's okay with you, Aunt Jenna."

Jenna stared at Elena. "Stefan's taking care of Damon? Didn't know he cared that much about his brother."

"That's why I'm going." Elena said with a smile and a roll of her eyes.

Getting serious, Jenna asked, "Elena, what are you doing?"

"Whattaya mean?" 

"You're dating Stefan. Things seem good between the two of you. Then you danced with Damon at the Founder's Ball, and last night-"

"Last night?" Elena questioned her aunt.

"Elena, I may have been born in the morning, but it wasn't this morning. I know what I saw."

Elena couldn't have been more confused. She had no idea what Jenna was talking about, but knowing Katherine was behind Damon's attack, she could only assume that Jenna had seen something between Katherine and Damon. _That's how she got in the house. Aunt Jenna thought she was me._ "Everything's fine. I just want to help a friend, okay?" Elena hoped that appeased Jenna.

With a scrutinizing look, Jenna nodded her head. "But you have to check in _here_ every day and I want you back here as quickly as possible. And don't let your school work get put aside. If I hear you're slacking, you're right back home. Got it?"

"Yes, Aunt Jenna. Thanks." Elena hugged her aunt before running to her room to grab a bag and quickly toss clothes and personal belongings inside. After she had her bag packed, which was actually four bags if her hair products, shoe bag and duffle of personal effects were included, Elena ducked into Jeremy's room to find it empty. Going back to her room, she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick note letting him know where she'd be if he needed her for anything.

Elena hustled down the steps and waved to Jenna as she went out the front door. Stefan was waiting, ready to take her bags and put them in the car.

Stefan helped her carry her bags up the stairs of the boarding house. When he started to move toward his bedroom, Elena stopped him. "Aunt Jenna said I should stay in my own room." Elena lied. She didn't have the heart to tell him she'd told Damon she would stay in a spare room. She only hoped that Stefan hadn't heard the conversation she had with her aunt.

"Then it's your pick." Stefan set the bags down at the top of the stairs and stood waiting for her to decide.

She didn't have time to even look at the available rooms as Damon strutted down the hall and grabbed her arm. Elena tried to pull away, but Damon held fast. "This one has the two best views." Damon walked her to the room across the hall from his own. Holding the door open for her to enter first, he snapped his fingers at Stefan to bring the luggage.

Elena walked into the room and was amazed that neither brother had chosen it as their own room. Half the room was floor to ceiling windows which over looked the woods surrounding the boarding house as well as a decent view of the front drive. Elena immediately thought the room was perfect as the colors were all light in stark contrast to the rest of the house's darker tones. "Why haven't either of you taken this room? The view is just-"

"The whole allergic to the sun if I don't have my fancy little ring on kinda hinders the beautiful view."

"You said it had the two best views in the house. Is there something I'm missing?" Elena questioned as she saw Stefan walking into the room.

Damon motioned to the door. When he saw Stefan was standing in the way, he waved his hand at Stefan to move. "I promise to keep the door open during my morning yoga flow." Damon smirked as the blush crept up Elena's body for the third time that day. Patting Stefan on the head like you would a loyal hound, "Good doggie, maybe I'll throw you a bone later." Damon walked across the hall and purposefully left the door to his bedroom open.

"You don't have to stay in here if-"

"I love this room, Stefan." Elena squashed the idea of staying in a different room. "I promise to keep _my_ door closed."

Stefan relaxed slightly as he picked up her bags and put them on the bed. "I'll let you get settled." Stefan left the room and closed her door behind him. It was certainly going to take some getting used to having her in the boarding house, but as much as Stefan wanted to hate his brother for asking Elena to stay, he couldn't help but agree with him. With Elena as a resident in the house, an uninvited vampire wouldn't be able to enter. She was as safe as they could make her.

It little later that evening, Alaric arrived with a knock on the door. Stefan got up from the couch he was sharing with Elena to answer the door. Damon hadn't come out of his room since he'd left Elena in her room, but at the sound of the knock on the front door, he appeared at the top of the stairs. Slowly making his way down the staircase, Damon walked past the front door with a nod acknowledging Alaric and into the den.

After pleasantries, Stefan looked at Damon, "What do you know?"

Damon smirked at Stefan. "What do I get if I tell you?" He had all intentions of telling everything he knew and then some, but it was too much fun to antagonize his brother that he couldn't resist. Stefan grit his teeth, and was ready to launch himself at Damon when Damon interrupted his explosion. "Taking this personally, I see." He rolled his eyes, but continued. "Katherine's back."

Alaric looked at Stefan. "I guess we were right."

Damon hadn't known they'd had a discussion without him. It kinda hurt his feelings. If he had any that is.

"Why would she come back now, after all this time?" Elena asked. She'd been thinking about it all day.

"Because the threat's gone." Damon answered. He looked at Elena like she was the only person in the room, because if he did otherwise, he would surely hold back information. "She said she was here to finish up loose ends. She was behind John Gilbert getting the invention. She wanted him to kill the tombed vampires."

"Why would she want that? Wasn't she friends with some of them?" Alaric asked the questions that were in Elena's mind.

"Katherine doesn't have friends." Damon momentarily looked at Alaric to answer his question, but then looked back to Elena. "I can only assume that she was afraid of something that was in that tomb, and with John dispatching of all the tombed vamps, she feels safe in Mystic Falls now."

"What would she be afraid of, though?" Elena asked, fidgeting in her seat at Damon's intense stare.

"The only there is for Katherine to be afraid of." Stefan answered looking at Damon.

Damon nodded as he returned Stefan's look. "Something stronger than she is." Stefan nodded agreement.

The brothers ignored the other occupants of the room as they started to think out loud. "But how can she be sure it didn't get away from Gilbert's scheme?"

"She wouldn't be here if she wasn't positive it was either dead or far from Mystic Falls. Katherine's not dumb enough to walk into a trap like that."

"How can we get her to leave?" Stefan asked.

Damon smirked and chuckled. "She won't leave."

"How can you be sure?"

"Her own words. Loose ends."

"Who does she consider to be loose ends, though? The list could be never ending."

Damon lifted one side of his grin, "Too true, but she made it pretty obvious who she thinks is a loose end." Without thinking, Damon's fingers grazed the outline of the scars on his chest through the material of his shirt.

"That leaves only one option." Stefan didn't want to say the words. As much as he agreed with it, he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"She has to be killed." Damon said as he stood and moved to pour himself a glass of scotch.

"Yea." Stefan agreed, but still didn't say the words.

Elena and Alaric felt like bystanders to the brothers' conversation. There was something they weren't saying. Something they didn't want to add. Something, Elena felt, Damon was hiding from them. If for no other reason, for their own safety. She had a sinking feeling he knew what was in the tomb that Katherine wanted dead.

Elena got up and walked to the kitchen, shortly followed by Stefan. Alaric took the opportunity to corner Damon. "I didn't want to say this when they were still in here." With the hand he was holding his glass with, Damon motioned for the teacher to continue. "I ran into Jeremy Gilbert today."

"And I should care?"

"Yea, you should." Alaric returned.

Shrugging his shoulders, "Fine, I'll bite. Why? Why should I care?"

"Because I think he's turning into a vampire." Alaric whispered, hoping Stefan wouldn't hear his words.


	4. Guardians

A/N: sorry...i took a short hiatus (what a day?)...but i wanted to get this chapter just right...and as a note, thunder storms are not fun when you're FIVE dogs suddenly decide they're afraid...a king size bed is not large enough for a 6'2" 210lbs guy plus five dogs...luckily the cats slept with jesse...all i have to say about the chapter is that it turned out just as i planned it...and yes it was inevitable...

-Fen

* * *

_**And when she left me for you, I was the last to know...**_

Stefan sat by himself in the den for awhile after Alaric left, Elena went to bed, and Damon disappeared to wherever Damon went when he was bored. He was trying to take in the fact that Katherine was definitely back in Mystic Falls and what that meant. With her strength and knowledge, Stefan feared he wouldn't be able to protect Elena from her. That was his biggest dilemma. Of everything that he should have been worrying about, he was more concerned for Elena's safety than anything else. He actually agreed with Damon asking her to stay at the boarding house. It not only gave Elena protection, as Katherine would not be invited in, but also gave them protection since they lived there as well. At the very least, it was a large enough place to house everyone they cared about.

If it came down to it, he would force Alaric to move in as well Jenna and Jeremy. If only to ensure their safety from Katherine, but his mind still betrayed him. He knew that even if they were all in the house, they would never be completely safe from Katherine. They would have to go out eventually, and Katherine, if she wanted badly enough, would be there waiting for them. Stefan thought long and hard, but could only come up with one alternative – especially with Damon not being up to par – and he wasn't sure he could handle that option. He threw it from his mind, not even wanting to think about it.

Deciding it was time to adjourn for the evening, he quietly made his way upstairs. He was surprised to hear noise as he made his way up the steps. He figured both Elena and Damon had gone to bed. Looking toward the bathroom where the noise was coming from, he watched as Damon limped, even if ever so slightly, as he walked through the doorway. Stefan shook his head. He was going to have to make a decision that could change him and all of his relationship for the rest of his undead life. He wasn't ready to make that decision, but he would if it truly came to it.

As Stefan closed the door to his bedroom, the bathroom door opened again and Damon walked out. With his towel wrapped around his waist, he walked carefully down the hall; favoring the leg that he broke going down the steps. He looked at Elena's closed bedroom door as he entered his own bedroom. His phone was buzzing, and he hurried to get to it. "Yea." He answered while getting himself dressed for bed.

Elena had been asleep, but for some reason, she'd heard Damon walking down the hall. Normally she wasn't such a light sleeper. Getting out of bed, she grabbed the short robe she had sitting on the chair by the door. As silent as she could, she opened the door. Half expecting Damon to be standing on the other side with a smirk on his face and quirked eyebrow, she was slightly disappointed to hear that he was in his bedroom, obviously having a conversation.

Creeping across the hall, she put her ear as close to the door opening without being seen as she could.

"Give me some time." A pause. "No, he might not be dead." He must have been talking on his phone. "I get it. I just need a warning." A quick pause. "I'll do it if it comes to that." A long pause. "I said, I'll do it!" Damon was on the verge of yelling into the phone. Elena wondered who he could have been talking to.

Damon tossed his phone on the bed and without looking over his shoulder said, "You don't have to stand in the hall."

Elena had thought she'd been stealthy, but apparently Damon had known she was standing there. Walking into the door way, she watched as Damon pulled an a frame tank over his chest. She only got a quick glimpse at the scars that were still on his chest and abdomen. "Who were you talking to?"

Damon smirked. "I thought you were asleep. Did you have a bad dream and need me to rock you back to sleep?"

Elena rolled her eyes immediately identifying that Damon was avoiding her question. "How are you? I mean, with your leg."

Damon slapped his leg through the cotton pants he had on. "Just fine."

"You can be honest with me."

Sauntering toward her, he kept her gaze as he spoke, "What makes you think I'm not? Hmm, Elena. Or is it that you wanted me to be the hurt, defanged vampire so you could play nurse?" Allowing the tension to build between them as it always did, he waited to finish. "All you have to do is ask. I'll play the sick patient to your nurturing nurse."

"You're impossible, Damon. You know that." Elena needed to get out of his bedroom before something happened. She fled back to her own bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her.

Damon was up early the following morning. Skipping his regular routine, he opted to get dressed and leave before anyone else was awake. His fingers held the key in the ignition of his car before he was even awake for five minutes. Shortly after pulling out of the boarding house driveway, he was parked in front of the house, and walking up the stairs to the front door. He knocked. He'd never been inside, otherwise he probably would have just barged in, waking the current occupant of the house.

Instead, when he didn't receive an immediate answer, he proceeded to ring the bell consecutively while banging on the door. A sleepy eyed Alaric finally opened the door. "Damon, what do you want? Why are you here? Is it even day yet?"

"Good, you're awake. Invite me in so I can snoop while you get dressed."

Alaric wasn't even able to register Damon's words. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently I'm here to teach you good manners, since you have yet to invite me in." Damon smirked.

"Come in." Alaric walked away from the door and into his living room. He sat down on the couch and rubbed at his eyes. Looking first at the clock on the mantle and then to Damon. "It's not even seven o'clock. Why are you here? And why do I have to be awake?"

"I would have waited impatiently inside had been given a formal invitation." Damon sat on the chair catty corner to the couch.

"Damon! What are you doing in my living room?" Alaric was getting more and more agitated and Damon's snide remarks were not helping.

"Grumpy much?" Damon put his feet up on the table. "You need to get dressed. We need to find Jeremy before he gets himself in trouble."

Alaric nodded and stood from the couch without saying a word. He walked to his bedroom and got dressed while Damon did exactly what he said he'd do. Snoop.

Half an hour later, Alaric walked into his empty living room. "Damon?"

"In here." The voice traveled from the kitchen.

Alaric walked in to find Damon digging through his fridge. "There's no blood."

"But plenty of penicillin. Do you eat anything besides take out?" Damon asked, closing the fridge door.

Alaric walked over to the fridge, opened the door, and grabbed slice of pizza from the box balanced on the top shelf. "Let's get this over with."

Damon walked out of the kitchen, through the living room and out the front door. Alaric followed. Damon got in the driver side and immediately locked the doors.

Alaric looked at him puzzled through the window. Rolling the window down a crack, "No food on the leather."

Alaric rolled his eyes and tossed the pizza crust. Damon unlocked the doors.

They drove around Mystic Falls most of the day with no Jeremy sighting. "You up to a foot chase?" Damon asked.

"We need to find him before someone else does." Alaric made sure not to mention Katherine's name.

Taking to walking around Mystic Falls, it was nearly nine at night before they spotted Jeremy. "There. Is that him?" Alaric asked, pointing into the distance.

"I've seen the kid all of five times. If that. You tell me." At that, Jeremy turned and looked at Damon and Alaric.

Damon nodded and started walking toward him, with Alaric at his heels. They were almost within hearing distance for conversation, when two figures walked out behind Jeremy causing Damon to stop dead in his tracks. Alaric wasn't able to stop quickly enough and ended up brushing against Damon's shoulder before he turned and looked at the vampire. "What's wrong?"

"Shut up."

"What is-"

"I said, shut up for a reason." Damon wouldn't turn his attention from the two dark figures that flanked Jeremy. Alaric finally noticed their presence, and moved so he was standing next to Damon, but just slightly behind him. He unconsciously played with the ring on his finger as he watched Jeremy look at the shorter of the two figures and then turn and walk away.

"We have to -"

"Shut up." Damon cut him off once again.

"Damon." The taller of the two called through the night air. A male voice. So much strength and power was reflected in that voice, Alaric was stunned still.

"Kristof." He nodded to the male as the couple approached. He turned then to the shorter of the two, a female. "Mickey."

She smiled at Damon. "Nice to see you again. And when you're not on your deathbed." She smiled ear-to-ear while her partner held a stern cold face.

"The kid?" Damon asked. He didn't want them knowing he knew Jeremy.

"He's with us now. We've helped him transition to our way." Kristof replied, his voice held anger.

In a soft and petite voice laced with aggression, Mickey finished, "We don't turn and leave fledglings high and dry. It's not our way."

"He's not mine."

"I know that. His sire was older than you, but she isn't stronger than you."

"She?" Damon asked.

"I could smell her all over him."

"Anna." _She must have fed him her blood before she was captured._ "She was killed in the Council's attack the other night."

Quitting the pleasantries, Kristof spoke. "You know what happens now, Damon. This is your warning. If we don't get our brother back, the entire town will fall."

Alaric was finally shocked out of his stun. "How does killing the town punish Katherine?"

Smirking, the ancient vampire watched Alaric playing with the ring on his finger. "Being killed with the humans she hates will destroy her more than any amount of torture."

"So the whole town has to pay because she's a bitch?" Alaric was seeing the sense in that.

"The town will pay for locking up our brother." Kristof moved to close in on Alaric, but Mickey put a hand out in front of him; stopping him as if an invisible force prevented him from moving any further.

"These humans involved themselves in a war they have nothing to do with. They imprisoned Adi without permission from either side."

Damon glanced at Alaric, trying to get him under control. "Do you really think Katherine had nothing to do with that?"

"If she did, all the more reason to burn the town down." Kristof snarled.

"How long?" Damon asked, trying to get away from the two vampires.

"One week." Kristof turned and walked away.

Mickey moved forward, close to Damon. "Find our brother, please." She wasn't begging. It was obvious she didn't want to torch the town.

"I don't even know if he's alive." Damon whispered back.

"I would know if he were dead."

"Then how do I know he's still in Mystic Falls?" Damon was getting annoyed. How was he supposed to find a vampire he'd never met and had no clue where to start looking?

"We were called here. Katherine made sure of that with the bloodshed. So he will be too. Find him before Kristof sees no other choice." Then she was gone.

Damon turned to Alaric as they walked back to the car. "If we don't find him, you get Elena out of this hell hole. Promise me that."

Alaric nods.

Damon turned off the head lights as he pulled into the driveway and parked his car. Alaric got out and followed Damon to the door.

Once inside, Stefan confronted them in the foyer. "Where have you been?"

"Dinner and a movie." Damon nods at Alaric. "He's a sucker for the mushy romances." Damon watches Elena emerge from the den, rubbing her eyes as if she just woke up from a nap on the oh-so comfy couch.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go to bed."

Stefan nods as she moves next to him and places a soft kiss on his cheek. "Make sure your windows are locked." Sharing a soft smile, Elena moves for the stairs.

Damon looks over his shoulder while still facing Stefan, "I'll be up in just a minute, doll." Looking back at his brother, he didn't need to see the flush cover her skin to know he scored another point.

"We should talk about what we found out tonight while looking for Jeremy." Alaric said when Elena was out of earshot.

"You were looking for Jeremy?" Stefan asked as the small group made their way into the den.

Damon poured himself a drink and downed it at once. Pouring himself another and grabbing a second glass, he poured a second drink. Walking over to the couch, he set the drink in front of Alaric before sitting down.

"Apparently Jeremy's turned to the dark side."

"Jeremy's a vampire?" Stefan whispered.

Damon waves a hand at his brother to end the subject. "That's not the interesting part."

Stefan pushes. "Jeremy being a vampire isn't the interesting part? Have you thought about exactly how Elena might take that bit of information?"

"He's fine. He couldn't be in better hands." Damon answered honestly.

"Who's he with? Who turned him?"

Damon rolled his eyes. Stefan was dwelling on the minor details, when there was such a larger issue to deal with. "He's with Kristof and Mickey. Two of the three remaining Guardians."

"Guardians aren't real. They're a boogeyman for vampires."

"They looked real to me." Alaric interjected.

Stefan smiled at Alaric believing him to truly be naïve on the subject. "No offense meant because I know you know more than the average person, but you don't know enough to be able to make that statement."

Alaric smiled back. "None taken, but _you_ weren't there. You didn't feel the power coming off of them."

Stefan wanted nothing more than to disregard Alaric's opinion, but couldn't because he had too much respect for the man. Instead, he figured he'd let the subject of the Guardians drop and treat these two new vampires as just that. Vampires. "How old are they? We can gauge their strength off their ages."

Damon scoffed. "They _are_ Guardians, and pretending they're not is suicide. They have millenia on us, Stefan. It's been the three of them for centuries. Since the war. Apparently one of them was locked in the tomb, and now they're here looking for him."

"How can you be so sure they really are Guardians?" Stefan still couldn't trust his brother.

"I've me them before, Stefan. They are what they say they are." Damon was very careful with his choice of words, especially in front of Alaric.

"What do they want?" Stefan decided to play along with the charade if only to get all the information.

"Either we find their brother or they burn the town down to the ground."

"Seems fair, being Guardians, you'd think they'd want to save human life instead of destroying it."

"On that note, I think I should leave." Alaric got up when he heard Stefan's tone. It was obvious the brothers were going to feud, and Alaric didn't want to be caught in the middle.

"Keys are in left pocket." Damon said, motioning to his jacket. Alaric took the hint and grabbed the keys while thinking to himself that he should grab a quick bite to eat before going home. "No eating on the leather."

Alaric spun around and looked at Damon. "Stop reading my mind!"

Damon just smirked in reply.

As soon as the door closed, Stefan looked at Damon as seriously as he could. "You don't expect me to believe that you really know these so called Guardians."

Before the words are even out of his mouth, Damon was in Stefan's face. His voice just barely hid the disdain he held for Stefan. "I know them better than you could possibly imagine, Stefan. I know their power from experience. Haven't you wondered why I've healed as quickly as I have? Not even once? Or why I have more power than you could possibly imagine? More power than any other vampire my age. Almost more power than Katherine herself?" And as quickly as he was in Stefan's face, he was out of it and heading for the stairs with a bottle of scotch and a glass.

While the boys argued downstairs, Elena was having a confrontation of her own. Walking into her bedroom with sleepy eyes, she did a double take when she saw a woman sitting in the chair by her bed. The girl looked like she was barely older than Elena herself. Her long red hair blew in the breeze from the open window. "I don't know who you are, but if you don't leave, I'll scream."

The woman raised one hand with her fingers stretched wide; palm facing the door. "They don't know I'm here and I'm not allowing them to hear this conversation."

Elena didn't move any further into her room. The stranger certainly had her scared, but at the same time, Elena didn't feel uncomfortable with her. "Who are you and what do you want from me?"

"I'm here as a friend that understands your current position."

"My current position?" Elena asked. What was this lunatic talking about?

"Trapped between two brothers and not knowing which one to choose."

"There is no choice. I love Stefan, not that it's any of your business." Elena didn't know why she was giving up any information, but she felt the need to reiterate it, if for nothing else but to hear the words herself.

The red haired girl smiled. "Stefan makes the perfect friend. Always there for you. Protecting you. Stable. You don't argue. Perfection as far as a friend goes."

"What are you getting at?" Elena wasn't seeing a downside.

"So you never want to be challenged? Arguments and disagreements are necessary. They help build a stronger bond. You can laugh and cry with just about anyone. But when you find that one person that can make your blood boil while your body tingles in all the right places, don't let it go. I did, because I didn't fully realize what it meant. And I've been without him for one hundred and forty-five years, but it feels like I've lived my entire existence without him."

_Confirmed. She's a vampire._ "Wait, how did you get in? You weren't invited."

"Guardians don't have to follow all those rules. We're not the same as the vampires you've met."

Elena blinked and she was gone from the room, leaving her alone, with the window closed.

"Looks like you've seen a ghost."

Elena jumped at the sound of Damon's voice. She looked at him in relief. "No, apparently just talking to one."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you're done, my bed's looking empty." He walked out of her room and across the hall into his own; leaving both the doors open.

Elena shivered. She couldn't help it. Laying down in her bed, she thought about what the girl said. Not that parts of it hadn't been floating around in her head before. She couldn't deny the feelings she had for Damon, and they certainly went deeper than friends. She just couldn't admit to that out loud. It would destroy Stefan.

Stefan hadn't moved from the position Damon left him. He just stood there, thinking. His thoughts from the night before twisted around his brain once again. If Damon was right, and these new vampires really were Guardians and they were after Katherine, Mystic Falls would become a battleground. He would never be able to protect Elena. Especially not in his current state. That was it. The decision was made. Stefan had to do what he had to do. He would never be able to go back after the deed was done, but did he really have a choice?

Stefan got up and walked to the kitchen. Opening up the fridge, he pulled out a bag of human blood and poured it into his mouth while making a promise to himself that he would control his hunger this time. He wouldn't let it control him.


	5. Carpe Diem

A/N: okay, i know i said this was gonna be out last night, but then i got sucked into a chick flick...it's all jesse's (my housemate) fault...she heard "sitka" mentioned on some tv show and insisted that we watch the proposal...so there was no opportunity to write last night...hopefully i've made up for that...also, quick question before i let you get to the fic...it's been brought to my attention that some of you may want this to move to an M rating...if this is the general consensus, i would be willing to move in that direction for some d/e fun ;P ...let me know what you want...i aim to please...

-Fen

* * *

_**I'll be first to say, that now I'm okay...**_

Elena rolled in the bed as she woke up. Her sleep was slightly deprived as strange dreams filled her mind. She remembered everything from the dreams, and laying there awake in the bed, she couldn't but think about the dreams. She couldn't help but think about the conversation she had the night before with the strange vampire that was in her bedroom. That conversation is what caused the dreams she had. Thinking about the words that were spoken the night before and the activities in her dreams, she had no choice but to contemplate her relationships with the Salvatore brothers.

The red haired woman was right. Stefan was perfect. He was always there to protect her. Sheltering her from the evil that was inevitable in the world. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to her. Keeping all the bad things away from her. He was there to pick her up before she fell. He would always agree with her. He didn't want anything to happen to her. Treated her like a porcelain china doll. The ideal friend, she could talk to him. She could love him.

Damon was the opposite while yet being the same. Like his brother, he made it his responsibility to protect her, but only when she needed it. He didn't shelter her from the world. He would do anything for her including give his own life. Of that, she had no doubt. _But_ he would let her fall. He would let her hit the ground. Because the strength she would get from standing back up was more important than shielding her. He argued with her because it's not possible for her to always be right. He took her to the bad things so she could face them down while keeping her safe. Damon's judgment was clouded by her well being. He wouldn't hurt himself to protect her. He would do anything for her, but not at the expense of allowing her to be hurt. Damon would always want her to realize her limits so that she could push them and reach a higher ground. He wouldn't hold her back, but let her blossom into the person she was supposed to be.

As Elena's mind wandered from one Salvatore to the other, she came to one very stark realization that shocked her to the core. She was in love with Damon. Because what the stranger said was right. No matter how much he pushed her, taunted her, teased her, when he was in the room, her body tingled. She wanted, no she needed to interact with him.

Jumping out of the bed and grabbing her robe, she walked out of her bedroom. Immediately seeing that Damon's bedroom door was open, just as he said it would be, she peered around the corner of the door. He was sleeping. Venturing into the room, she stood there watching him sleep. Losing her nerve to wake him and ask the questions she was dying to know the answers to, she turned and started for the door.

"Get it over with."

Elena jumped at the sound of Damon's voice. Spinning on her heel, she faced him. His eyes were open. "Get what over with?"

"Whatever it is you came in here to ask me."

"I didn-"

"Yes, you did." Damon cut her off. He enjoyed seeing the flush creep up from her chest and fill her face.

Elena sighed and walked to the foot of his bed. "Who or what are guardians?"

Damon's eyes popped. He wasn't expecting that question to come out of her mouth. How did she even hear about them? She wasn't in the room when they discussed them the night before. Damon lifted his head and leaned slightly against the head board so he could keep eye contact with her. "What do you know about Guardians?"

"Well, apparently they don't have to be invited in." Elena tried joking, but knew it was a serious subject.

Sitting up fully, Damon realized that either Mickey or Kristof must have been in the house. He was betting on the former. Not wanting to panic her, he slouched back down into the bed. "What's it worth to you?"

"What's what worth?" Elena asked even though she knew the answer. It was took much fun to egg Damon on.

"The answer."

Rolling her eyes, Elena started for the door, throwing a comment over her shoulder. "I'm not in the mood for games, Damon." She lied through her teeth, but she couldn't let him know.

He was in front of the door in a flash. "Who said anything about games?" Damon reached behind him and closed the door before walking back over to his bed and sitting down once again with his back against the head board.

Damon thought that Elena would open the door and leave. So he was more than a little surprised to watch Elena turned back toward his bed and walk over. Sitting down on the bed next to him, but facing him instead of putting her back against the head board. "What do you want?"

Smirking, Damon said the first thing that popped into his head. "A kiss." She would certainly leave the room on that note.

Pretending to think about it, Elena already knew what she would do. After all, it was what she'd been hoping he would say after her realization earlier. "Fine."

Surprised for the second time in less than ten minutes, Damon watched as Elena leaned forward on the bed. Not wanting to lose his opportunity, he followed suit.

His eyes studied her as they moved closer and closer together. He thought Stefan would barge through the door any second interrupting them. There was no way this would happen. It was too easy. But he was wrong. Stefan never barged through the door. There was no interruption. Just their lips touching. Damon let his eyes drift shut as he twisted one hand into her hair and pulled her closer. With his other hand wrapping around her waist, he tugged her body to his.

Elena opened her mouth and tested her tongue against his lips. Damon hid his initial shocked reaction by taking advantage of the moment. Opening his own mouth, their tongues finally touched. Gently, they each explored the other, neither wanting to pull away, and knowing the other was enjoying it just as much. Damon's grip tightened around her waist, and Elena shifted her body so she was straddling him on the bed. A growl emitted deep inside Damon's chest. With a smile on his lips, he pulled away from Elena and got off the bed.

It was Elena's turned to be stunned. She watched Damon get off the bed and walk over to one of the tables. He rummaged around for a few minutes then returned to the bed with a small leather bound book. Damon returned to his position on the bed with his back against the head board. He patted the spot next to him. When Elena took the hint and moved next to him, Damon held the book out to her. "I _found_ this awhile back. It's a history of vampires. Well, a short history; but its written by vampires."

Elena took the book and turned it over in her hands. Red stained covered the book, and although Elena didn't ask, she knew it was blood. Opening it up, she started to flip through the hand written pages.

"The first vampire was a form of evolution., but he was the only one of his kind. No others ever existed, so he started to create vampires from his own blood. It was too late when he realized what he'd done. Humans were paying for his bad decisions with their lives, and he couldn't take that. So he created vampires that were stronger. They came to be known as the Guardians." Damon paused and took a deep breath. "Many centuries ago, war broke about between the Guardians and vampires. The Guardians didn't expect the attack and after decades of battle, they were dwindled down to just three. Kristof, the oldest Guardian known and probably the most powerful vampire unless the first is still alive. Adolf, a few centuries younger, and Mikael. She's a few years younger than Adolf. The three of them have been traveling the world, keeping the secret of vampires, just that. A secret. Whenever there's a surge of power of influx of vampires, the Guardians arrive and diminish it."

"You know them?"

"I've had the privilege of meeting two of them. Kristof and Mickey."

"Mickey? What does she look like?"

"Red hair, eyes of fire, petite, and more dangerous than either of her brothers."

Elena immediately realized that it was this vampire that had been in her bedroom the night before. "Would she hurt-"

"No, she wouldn't hurt anyone unless she was given no other option."

"You say that with so much confidence."

Damon ground his teeth together. He promised himself he would never tell another the story he was about to relate to Elena. "Early 1900s, I got in a little over my head. I was arrogant and cocky-"

"You're always arrogant and cocky."

Damon rolled his eyes and smirked. "More so than usual, and I got myself in a bit of trouble. I thought I had the upper hand as a vampire. What I didn't know was that the twenty or so humans in the room knew what vampires were and knew how to kill us. I was left to die by the rise of the sun. Fortunately for me, they didn't know about lapus lazuli. Mickey found me more than half dead in an alley."

"So she fed you blood?" Elena remembered giving him blood after finding him staked in her home.

"She fed me _her _blood." Elena stared at him, not sure of the consequences that would cause. "Elena, I am stronger than my brother not because I drink human blood, but because I have a more ancient power in my body than he does." Damon stood up from the bed and walked away from her.

Elena watched as he headed for the door. Was he seriously going to just leave her there after dropping a bombshell on her like that? She jumped off the bed and ran to the door, throwing her body in his way.

He raised an eyebrow. "I just told you I have more power than you can imagine and you're gonna try to stop me by _standing there_?"

"You won't hurt me." It was a statement, not a question. Damon didn't argue her. He stood there, staring at her. "What are they doing here?"

Damon sighed, he _did not_ want to tell Elena about her brother like this. In fact, he didn't want to tell Elena about her brother. He was hoping Stefan would do that. "Mickey and Kristof want their brother back. Apparently he was trapped in the tomb."

"And they want your help?"

"More like demanding it." Damon mumbled, rubbing at his temples.

"Because you have their blood in you?"

Damon took a step closer to Elena. Another step. Another step. Until she was backed against the door. Leering over her, his hands went to either side of her waist and he leaned his weight against the door behind her. Slowly closing in on her face, he could the flush spreading across her once again. "Because they'll destroy Mystic Falls and everyone in it, if I don't. As much as I don't care about this town, I _do_ care about you; and you care about this town. You're in this town. So I have to protect it."

Elena was shocked once again. He just admitted that he would save an entire town because of _her_.

"Elena, there's something else I should tell you."

Elena didn't know if she could take anymore news.

Luckily for Damon, she didn't get a chance to hear anymore news as a knock came to the door before he could open his mouth again to tell her about her brother being turned.

"Damon! You need to come downstairs." Stefan voice rang from the other side of the door.

Damon smiled as he looked at Elena. "Elena! Would you put some clothes on? Stefan's at the door!"

Damon thought he could hear his brother's blood boiling at the comment.

Elena rolled her eyes but didn't say a word.

"We'll be down in just a minute." Damon called through the door.

Elena thought the door was going to come off the hinges, but then she heard Stefan's footsteps moving down the hall. He couldn't possibly think she was in Damon's room undressed. Or could he?

"Good luck covering that up, since he's already checked to see if you're in your room." Damon smirked and walked away from Elena to change out of his pajamas.


	6. Type O Neg

A/N: whoever the idiot is that invented preschool graduations needs to be shot and drawn and quartered! ...if i wasn't stuck at my cous' nephew's grad. last night, i would have had this chapter out last night...this is a little loose as far as structure goes...but a necessary chapter...as always let me know what you think...also, some of you have mentioned that you're interested in reading my original fiction works...i'm in the midst of adding them to my deviant art account...hit up my profile and click the homepage link...

-Fen

* * *

_**She didn't say a word, just walked away...**_

Damon walked down the stairs of the boarding house. He could hear Stefan talking in the den. _Why do we always converge in the den? Must be the fireplace._ Walking into the den, Damon saw Alaric standing by the fireplace with his back to Stefan. Stefan turned when Damon entered the room. His pause in conversation caused Alaric to turn around and see Damon as well. "Seems the odds just keep stacking up against us."

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked. It was early, but not too early, at least for a vampire; so Damon poured himself a drink and lounged across one of the leather chairs angled toward the fireplace.

"Apparently Tyler Lockwood was affected by John Gilbert's invention, too."

"Must be in the blood." Stefan and Alaric questioned Damon with their eyes. Damon rolled his eyes. He forgot he never told either of them. "His father was in the basement."

"Mayor Lockwood was taken into the basement? Did John know?" Stefan questioned.

"How should I know? And before you ask, yes he's dead. The other vampires killed him."

Alaric had no idea what that could possibly mean. Both the Lockwoods affected by the invention. It just didn't make sense. "But they weren't vampires."

"There are things other than vampires that roam the nights." Stefan looked at the history teacher. "Without knowing for sure my first guess would be werewolf."

"Werewolf? Those things are real?" Alaric was pretty sure he was in over his head.

Stefan nodded while Damon stood up from the chair, dropped his drink on the table and walked to the front door without a word. Stefan and Alaric followed and watched as Damon stood under the rays of the sun. Looking over his body, a scowl began to cover his face. "Damon, what are you doing?"

The scowl disappeared and was replaced by a smirk. "With all this talk of vampires and werewolves, I wanted to make sure I didn't start sparkling in the sun. That would be total drag."

Stefan sighed and shook his head. "Werewolves do exist, Damon!"

"But when was the last time you heard of a blood line? Huh? Can you even remember? It's been at least a couple decades for me. This isn't someone who got bit by accident. Not with a father and son." Damon walked back into the house, not wanting any passersby to hear the conversation they were having.

Once back in the den, the three continued their conversation. "I'm not sure why we're worrying about the possibility of some lone wolf when we have bigger problems."

"Yes, Damon, because your Guardians need our full attention." Stefan didn't even try to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Damon, we need to-"

"Funny you'd jump right to them because I was talking about Katherine. We haven't seen her in awhile."

"I haven't seen her at all." Stefan was starting to get on Damon's nerves. More so than usual. "Maybe you made all of that up to get us to go after these Guardian friends of yours."

"One small fault with your logic, brother. I don't want to kill the Guardians. In fact, I'd like to help them kill Katherine if at all possible." Stefan was shocked at his brother's words. Not that he'd ever doubted Damon's word that Katherine was the one to stake him in Elena's kitchen, but the fact that Damon was ready to kill her simply surprised him. "If anything happens to the Guardians, where will that leave Jeremy?" Damon asked.

"You didn't explain much about that last night." Stefan had wanted more information, but Damon had left him on such a note that he couldn't follow to question him further.

Alaric just stood to the side, taking in all the information the brothers were sharing. "Apparently he had Anna's blood in him when he died. Don't ask. I don't know. He seemed fine when I talked to him. Anna was killed in the basement which left Jeremy on his own. You should be thankful that the Guardians arrived in town when they did. Otherwise, we may have had to kill the boy."

"Jeremy should be with people who care about him when he's making the change. Not some strangers that don't even care if he lives. He should be here, where he can be looked after."

"What? So you can turn him onto your Bambi diet and when he does eventually get a taste of human blood – which is inevitable – he goes insanely crazy for it like someone else we know? Hmm? That sound like a better plan?"

"Damon, he's turned into a vampire, and you don't think his sister should even be involved?"

"Not until he's able to control himself, or have someone control him from himself."

"Jeremy's a vampire?" All three heads turned to see Elena standing in the doorway to the den. Not one of them knew how long she'd been standing there or how much she heard of the conversation. Not waiting for a response, Elena ran for the door, catching herself on the lock as she fled the boarding house.

Damon moved toward the door at the same time Stefan did. Both intent on following her, when Damon actually looked at his brother. Seeing the veins under his red eyes swelled, and his fangs descended, Damon shook his head and pushed Stefan back into the den. "You've got to be kidding me! You're back on the type o neg?" Running to the basement and back before Stefan could realize what was going on, Damon handed Alaric one of the vervain syringes. "Hit him with this if he tries anything. Stefan," Damon turned to look at Stefan, "do not follow me. You won't survive the night."

Following Elena out the front door, he had to catch her scent to find which direction she'd gone since her figure wasn't anywhere to be seen. He followed the trail of Elena all the way to the cemetery. She was sitting next to a large headstone with her parents' names etched on it. Not wanting to disturb or scare her, he sat down on the soft earth on the opposite side of the headstone.

"I used to spend a lot of time here."

"Life of the party." Damon replied with a chuckle. She was clearly upset; he'd let her set the pace of the conversation.

"Even before my parents died. It's quiet. Peaceful."

"And the dead don't talk back."

"You do."

"Touche." Damon began picking at the ground and tossing stones across grass, making sure not a single one hit a headstone or monument. Just because he was a vampire didn't mean he couldn't still respect the dead that couldn't come back to life.

"I haven't been here in a long time. I guess I really just haven't had the time." There was a peaceful silence in the cemetery. Elena crawled to the other side of the headstone to sit next to Damon. With her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, she leaned her head on Damon's shoulder. He let her. "How did it happen?"

Damon squinted down at her, not sure what she was talking about. _Jeremy._ "I don't know the details. Ric came to me and said he'd run into Jeremy and thought he was turning. So we hunted him down."

"And you found him?" She looked up at Damon's face to see his reaction.

Damon nodded. "That's when we ran into the Guardians last night."

"Did you see him?" Damon nodded. "How did he seem? Different? Darker? Scared?"

Damon didn't know the answers to her questions. He hadn't been close enough, and he hadn't actually gotten a chance to talk to Jeremy. Kristof and Mickey had interrupted that. He looked at Elena, hope was in her eyes. "Mickey will take good care of him. Kristof, too."

"How can you be so sure? Didn't you say there was a war between vampires and Guardians? Wouldn't that mean they don't like vampires?"

"Reverse that." Elena scrunched her nose at Damon. "Vampires hate Guardians. They were created to save human life and prevent vampires from exterminating the entire human race. Of course vampires hate them. Mickey cherishes life, whether its human or not. She will only take a life if there is no other option. Kristof is a bit more hot headed."

"So Jeremy's safe? He won't hurt anyone?"

"They'll transition him with time and eventually he'll probably be stronger than Stefan, but he'll drink human blood."

Elena dropped her head back onto Damon's shoulder. They sat like that until Elena couldn't feel her legs anymore. Stretching out her legs, she stood up and looked down at Damon. "I want to make sure he's okay. With my own eyes."

"Elena, that's not a good idea." Damon stood up as well. He felt as if she held power of him when she was above him like that.

"I don't care if it's a good idea, I'm not doing a damn thing until I see my brother."

"Elena, we don't know how he is. He could try to kill you just to get your blood."

"A risk I'm willing to take."

"Is it argue with Damon Day?" Damon couldn't believe that not a single person would just listen to him and trust him enough to take his word for what it was. The truth! "You're not seeing your brother until I know you'll be-"

Damon was cut off by Elena's lips crashing against his. Melting in her kiss, Damon instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Elena pushed against his body until she had him pinned against the headstone behind them. If Elena had remembered that the headstone was her parents' she might not have done what she did next. Reaching up and putting her hands on either side of his face, she pulled his head down as she opened her mouth to him. A low growl emitted from Damon as he spun them around and lifted Elena up onto the headstone.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands found a home as they snuck under his shirt and pulled him closer. Damon's eyes rolled under his eyes at the feel of her hands against his flesh. He was seriously considering the science behind spontaneous combustion as his hands drifted under the hem of her baby doll tee. Forcefully pulling himself from her clutches, he scooped her up in his arms and started carrying her from the cemetery.

"Where are you taking me?" Elena asked, her lips were ruddy and her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Away."

Instantly she was angry and starting pushing on his chest. "What? To keep me from my brother?"

"No! So you can see him." Elena immediately quieted and just enjoyed the feeling of Damon's strong arms holding her close.

A few _very_ slow hours, excruciatingly long car ride, numerous text messages that Damon would not let her see, companionable silence, and silly conversation later, Damon pulled into the parking lot of a dive bar. "You think now's a good time to stop for a drink?"

"You need to eat." Was the only response Damon would give as he got out of his car and waited for Elena to round the back of the car.

As they walked toward the front door of the rundown looking building with the flickering neon sign that was barely hanging on, Damon took Elena's slender hand in his own and pulled her slightly closer to him. If she thought the outside of the bar looked rough, she didn't know what to call the inside. The numerous motorcycles lined up outside the bar should have given her a hint of the degrading hygiene in the place. Damon nodded to the bartender as he led Elena to a booth at the back of the bar. Every head in the place turned and looked at them. Damon made sure he looked at every face that looked at them. In a few short seconds, he had the respect of every patron. Respect from fear was never a bad thing in Damon's book.

_Exactly why she's safer with me, than that poofter brother of mine._ Damon waited for Elena to sit before taking the seat right next to her instead of across from her.

Elena didn't mind the close proximity to Damon. It was slightly unusual, but not uncomfortable. The bartender walked over and handed Elena a paper menu of the short list of food items they had while he placed two drinks on the table. "Mr. Salvatore." He made a slight nod at Damon before returning to his place behind the bar.

"You know him?"

"I've threatened him a couple times. Nearly killed him once." Damon tried to joke, but it was obvious there was some seriousness to his words. "Decide what you want yet?"

"You recommend anything?"

"I don't usually come here for the food." He smirked. "At least not what's on the menu."

Elena stared at him. _Did he just admit to eating people in this place?_ "Think the burger's safe?"

"Get it well done."

Elena didn't understand. She knew Damon had control over his bloodlust. Why would he be threatened by the blood of a medium burger?

Damon turned to the bartender, whom quickly moved to the table to take Elena's order. As soon as he walked away, she looked at Damon. "You have a problem with cow's blood?"

Elena never got an answer to her question as a handsome man with short brown hair, dark eyes, and a long black coat slid into the seat across from them. "Damon."

"Kristof." Elena could feel the tension between the two vampires. She'd recognized the name as one of the Guardians Damon had talked about.

"I don't agree with this. He's not ready to face the life he left behind." He paused. Elena was captured by his voice. His speech wasn't anything superb or extraordinary, but the way he talked stunned her. Similar to how it had stunned Alaric. He exuded power through every pore on his body. That was undeniable. "Mickey seems to think different." Without another word, he stood up from the table and moved so he could block anyone from coming near the table if need be.

Moments later, Elena watched as the red haired stranger that had been in her bedroom the night before walked into the bar holding Jeremy's hand. He didn't look too different. There were subtle differences that anyone that didn't know Jeremy the way Elena did wouldn't even notice. His face was stern, and he eyed everyone in the place as they made their way through to the booth. He seemed on alert and even stared at a few people as he passed by them. Mickey tightened her grip on his hand when he paused at a table, looking at the occupants.

Once he saw Elena, his expression changed. It went from stern and slightly out of it to joyful and surprised. "Elena? Is that really you?"

Elena tried to stand up to move and give her brother a hug, but Damon held her in the spot. "I said you could see him. Let's not test his will." Elena nodded, not agreeing, but understanding.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm dealing. Mickey and Kristof have been more than helpful."

"You're not scared?"

"I was. Honestly, I was, but not anymore."

"Why?" Elena asked just as the bartender returned with her burger and fries. Quickly dumping ketchup on the fries, she pushed them forward offering them to her brother.

He looked at Mickey first. She shook her head. "Your body can't digest human food just yet."

Looking back at Elena, he smiled, "Thanks for the offer."

"You seem happy."

"I wouldn't go that far, but I'm better."

Elena began to eat her dinner and was only a few bites in when Kristof backed himself up against the table. Turning to Mickey he spoke in a language Elena had never heard before. She couldn't even describe it. Mickey reached and took Jeremy's hand. "We have to go."

"What? So soon? We didn't even get to talk really." Elena complained, putting her burger back down on the plate.

"If that fight turns bloody, he won't be able to control himself."

"What fight?" Elena asked just as punches were thrown across the bar.

"Bye, Elena. I love you." Jeremy said as he was pulled from the table.

Elena reached out to her brother and for a moment their fingers touched. "I love you, too, Jer!" She called as the three vampires disappeared from the bar.

Damon turned to Elena. "Finish up, then we'll find a place to stay for the night."


	7. Hopeless Romantic

A/N: a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short...let me know what you guys think...

-Fen

* * *

Damon downed two more glasses of scotch waiting for Elena to finish her meal. When it looked like she wasn't going to finish, he questioned her if she ever planned on leaving. Elena shot him a glare. She wasn't looking forward to the events that would happen when they left. She didn't want to be stuck in some seedy motel with Damon for the entire night. Scratch that, as much as she wanted to actually stay with Damon in a seedy motel room all night, she didn't at the same time. Spending that much time alone with Damon would only result in two possible outcomes. Either they'd have a break through in their friendship/quasi-relationship and they'd spend the night getting to know one another better and just generally being together; hopefully both acknowledging their feelings aloud for one another. The other possible outcome and the one Elena would bet her money on was they'd end up not sleeping much and getting to know each other, just in a much more primal and carnal way. Elena did not want to jump that boat just yet.

Sure she'd pretty much made it clear in the cemetery that she wanted him, but she'd done it to get what she wanted; and it worked!

So there sat Elena eating as slowly as she could. She'd thought it wasn't conspicuous, but apparently Damon had caught on. Quickly taking the last couple bites of her sandwich and popping the last fry in her mouth, she pushed Damon to get out of the booth. "Ready."

Damon rolled his eyes, finished his drink and got out of the booth. Dropping some cash on the table to cover the cost of their drinks and Elena's meal, Damon once again took her hand as he led her out of the dingy bar. "Why can't we just head back to Mystic Falls?" Elena asked as they exited the bar.

"Because it's a long drive. I'm tired and you're not driving my car."

An idea popped into Elena's head, and she turned in front of Damon, stopping his movements to the car. Going up on her tip toes, she tried to pull him into another kiss, like earlier that day.

Damon grabbed her arms, smirking, and stopped her. Clicking his tongue at her first, he proceeded to scold her. "Fool me once, shame on you. Try it again, and I'll show ya a thing or two." With a glint of mischief in his eye, he pulled her harshly against him. Still holding her arms, he pushed his lips against hers, not asking, but forcefully taking what he wanted. His tongue danced around her mouth, and her knees went weak. He backed her up until she was pinned between him and his car. Using the car as a support from Damon's assault, Elena folded into his embrace. After he let go of her arms, she tried to wrap her hands around his neck, but he stopped her. She was forced to settle on wrapping them around his abdomen.

Chuckling against her lips, Damon let his hands roam her body. Elena couldn't tell if it was Damon's hands touching her or if a hummingbird was flitting around her body. Damon brought his knee between her legs. Elena's mind didn't even respond to Damon's action, just did as he wanted. Snaking a hand between their bodies, he ran a knuckle along the seam of her jeans; applying pressure at just the right moment. He chuckled again when she moaned into his mouth.

Pulling away from her, he helped support her body while he waited for her to say something. "Where's that seedy motel?"

Backing away from her, he tapped her nose with a wide smirk on his face. "You can't beat me at a game I created."

Elena wanted to smack him, but she had asked for it. She had tried to use her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. She never anticipated that Damon's wiles were much stronger than her own. Although on after thought, she should have expected it. He certainly had more experience that she did.

Getting into the car, Elena waited for Damon to start the car and make for the motel. She was more than surprised when twenty minutes later they pulled into the loop of a large hotel. A doorman opened her door for her and Damon hopped out, handing his keys off to the valet. "This is where we're staying?" Elena asked as they walked through the front doors.

"What did you expect? Some one room shack where the sheets have probably never been changed, the shower is the most unhygienic part of the room, cable is an obscene word, and there's absolutely no room service, let alone a maid or fresh towel?"

"Well, yeah. Pretty much exactly what I was expecting."

Damon made a face at her. "You obviously don't know me that well." Stretching his arms out and motioning to his body, he continued, "A body as hot as this one only sleeps on Egyptian Cotton. 1500 thread count minimum."

Elena rolled her eyes at him as he went up and signed them in. She figured he was going to compel the poor girl behind the counter, and her presence wouldn't help that situation.

Elena chose to take a seat in the lobby, but wasn't seated long when Damon took her hand and headed for the elevator. "Seems the friendly girl behind the counter is a bit of a hopeless romantic."

"And that came up in conversation how?"

Smirking, Damon placed a kiss on the curve of her neck. Lifting his head just slightly, he whispered in her ear, "If you must know, I informed her of our elopement because you're father is a controlling bastard that doesn't like the sexy guy from the wrong part of town, and you just couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with me, especially after I saved your life when your last boyfriend went a psychotic and tried killing the two of you in some murder-suicide pact that you had no idea about, and then of course there's the fact that I've never been with another woman in all my life," Damon put his hand over his heart and glassed his eyes over to look like a lost puppy dog, "because I've been waiting for the perfect woman. The woman that just completes me, and makes my life worth living."

"We're in the honeymoon suite, aren't we?" Elena asked, rolling her eyes at Damon's long winded story.

Damon flashed a grin at her. "Of course. Best room in the place with the jacuzzi tub less than ten feet from the bed." Damon turned and waved at the girl behind the counter and he and Elena stepped into the elevator. Once out of sight, Elena punched Damon on the arm. "Was that supposed to hurt? If so, I could fake it if you'd like."

Elena punched him again. "Why would you go through that whole story if you could just compel her? Wouldn't that have been easier?"

"Easier, yes. More fun? Well, you know the answer to that."

The elevator doors opened, and there was only one door on the entire floor. "We have an entire floor?"

"I like privacy." Damon unlocked the door and held the door open for Elena. "I wouldn't want to keep the neighbors awake later when you're unable to control screaming my name."

"You're impossible."

"I'm not the one that jumped me in the cemetery, and then tried again later in the par-"

"You know those didn't mean-"

"And what about this morning? In my bed? That kiss didn't mean anything either?" Elena opened her mouth at Damon's seriousness. Moments before he was joking around, and then he questioned her about their first kiss. She didn't know what to say, which was okay, because Damon didn't give her a chance to respond. He pulled her into the softest and gentlest kiss she'd ever felt. She could feel the raw passion boiling just below the surface of Damon, but he didn't let it spill over. He kept the kiss just as simple as their first one had been. Tender and sweet. Elena wished she could be kissed like that for the rest of her life. Damon pulled away from her, but gripped her chin with his right hand while putting his left on her waist. "What about that kiss? Did it mean nothing?" Again, Elena opened her mouth,but nothing came out. "Speechless. Didn't think it was possible." He stared in her eyes and her brain tried to function again to make a coherent thought. "Why all of a sudden do you want to kiss me?"

"Mickey." It was the first thing that popped into Elena's head so it was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"Mickey?" Damon let go of her chin and released her waist. He took a few steps back, not understanding what she meant. Elena's body moved forward at the loss of his touch, but her mind quickly corrected the action. "Elena, what do you mean? How could Mickey have anything to do with this? You just met her at the bar."

Elena smiled and motioned for Damon to close the door. Even though there wasn't another person on the floor, it didn't mean someone wouldn't hit the wrong number on the elevator. "I just met her at the bar, officially."

"When did you unofficially meet her?" Then it clicked. "Last night. She's the reason you asked about Guardians this morning." Elena nodded her head. "What did she say to you?"

"To look at what's right in front of me before I lose it like she did." Elena opened herself up to him. There was nothing shielding her anymore. She was telling him she loved him without saying the words. She just hoped he understood what she meant.

Damon's own mind was reeling. Elena was Stefan's girlfriend. No matter how much he joked about her being "our girlfriend," she was still Stefan's. Elena had made a point of clarifying that. But here she stood, staring at him, waiting for an answer. A response. Anything, and he didn't know what to do. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn't sure if that was the right thing. Since when did he worry about doing the right thing? _Since you started loving her._ His mind scolded him. Love was a human emotion that he'd kept pinned down for the last century and a half. There was no way he could have prevented himself from falling in love with Elena. It was impossible not to love her, but the vampire that he truly was resented him for trying to be human. Trying to have human feelings.

"You stink." He scrunched his nose and Elena stared at him bewildered. "I'll let you have the shower first."

Elena didn't understand. They'd been having a serious conversation and then all of a sudden Damon just dropped the subject. _He always drops the subject when it looks like he'll have to actually look at himself and what he feels!_ Sighing heavily, she turned and walked for the bathroom door. Opening the door with a huff, she slammed it shut behind her. Just because he was done with the conversation didn't mean she was. How dare he just end it like that! _But, that's Damon._ Elena smirked as she realized that she wasn't really angry with him, just at his childish behavior.

It wasn't until after she'd taken her shower that she thought about the fact she didn't have a change of clothes or pajamas for that matter. Scowling, she dried off with the fluffy towels and then wrapped the hotel robe around her body, tying the strap tightly.

Peaking out the door of the bathroom, she could see Damon lounging on the bed with his eyes glued to the TV. He must have heard the door open because he pointed to the chair closest to the bathroom door. "Stuff."

Elena looked at the two bags sitting on top of a few boxes. Just the bags looked expensive, Elena didn't want to know how much the clothes actually cost. _Damon's always been a designer label kinda guy._ Elena grabbed the bags and boxes and moved back toward the bathroom door. She felt something hit the door as she tried to close it. Peering back out, she saw Damon raise his hand again and shake his finger. "You want me to change with the door open?" She questioned.

"Wait for the commercial!" A few seconds later, the commercial hit and Damon darted for the bathroom. "Trying to save time. Keep the door open." Elena turned just in time to see Damon stripping out of his clothes and climbing into the shower.

Elena jumped and hustled out of the bathroom. Keeping the robe wrapped around her, she turned the corner of the room to look at the TV to see what was so compelling he didn't want to miss. "You're watching a show about the Civil War on the History Channel? Didn't you fight in the Civil War?"

"It's interesting to see how they got it wrong!" Damon called from the shower. Seconds later he was walking out of the bathroom pulling a black tank over his body then toweling his hair dry. "Won't it be interesting in a hundred years or so to see how the world confuses Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Madonna for the same person?"

"I won't be alive in a hundred years."

"So says you now." Damon smirked and flopped onto the bed. "Dibs."

Elena's eyes widened. "You're gonna make me sleep on the couch?" She asked.

"I'm not gonna make you do anything. I'm sleeping in the bed. You can sleep wherever you'd like."

Elena scowled at him one more time before going to the bathroom and changing into the pajamas Damon bought her.

_How's the bloodsucker doing? _Damon sent the text and set the phone down next to him as he once again focused on the TV.

_Fine. Bigger problems. _Alaric responded.

_Of what variety?_

_Katherine._

Damon read the word, but didn't want to acknowledge what it meant. Did he want to ask any more questions? Or just be happy that Elena was safe because she wasn't at the boarding house? Hitting a few buttons on the phone he held it up to his ear.

"What did she do?" Damon asked when Alaric answered the phone.

"She's made it clear that she had the Guardian and she's not going to give him up without-"

"What does she want?"

"You, apparently." Alaric paused, but continued, "Preferably with your head on a stick."

"After all I've done." Damon couldn't believe that Katherine really wanted to kill him. He'd spent his entire undead life trying to free her, and now she wanted him dead. For good. "Anything else?"

"Not just you. At least that's what Stefan thinks."

"Stefan? He talked to Katherine?"

"He's the one that answered the door when she showed up here."

"Give him the phone." Damon waited a few moments until he was sure Stefan was on the other end of the line. "What else does she want?"

"She's willing to allow Elena to live as long as we can give her the Guardians."

"It's always been about Power." Damon knew exactly how Katherine's mind worked, simply because it's how his own mind worked. "The I guess we just have to give her what she wants." Damon didn't wait for a response. He just hung up the phone.

Elena walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas. "Really? You couldn't find something a bit more, oh, I don't know, concealing?" The black silk pajama shorts just barely covered her rear and the matching black silk top was tight against her body; the thin straps loose on her shoulders.

"Our romantic friend behind the counter sent up the bags."

"She could afford-"

"I didn't say she didn't have my credit card." Damon smirked as he switched the TV off. "Have you decided where you're sleeping?"

"On _my_ side of the bed." Elena quirked her eyebrow as she made her way to the side opposite Damon.


	8. Reality Sucks

A/N: wrote this entire chapter while listening to peter gabriel and tim mcgraw...i'm SO sick of slow depressing songs right now! ...cranking up the black lips...screw the neighbors! call the cops if you'd like...thank you to everyone that's left reviews, i've been trying to stay caught up with them...but i think i missed a few here and there...keep up the reviews...i love waking up in the morning and finding my inbox full with review alerts...and i promise not to read while i'm driving...only while waiting for the idiots at dunkin donuts to make my damn tea THE RIGHT WAY!

-Fen

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_**You were the first to lie, when we were not alright...**_

Damon's eyes were open while he watched Elena sleep. It was late at night, and he'd be forced into waking up when Elena nudged him. Contrary to popular belief, he was actually a soft sleeper. That was nearly two hours ago, and yet Damon was unable to fall back asleep. Since it was her fault he was even awake, he decided he could have some fun with her. Especially after she tried playing his game, even though she'd lost miserably.

As the side of his mouth slid upward into a sideways grin, he reached a gentle hand forward and ran a single finger from her temple down to her chin; lighter than a feather. His eyes sparkled as she shivered involuntarily. Applying just a little more pressure he repeated the action in reverse. Again, Elena shivered, but she also stretched her face closer to his. Damon took the opportunity to lean forward and ghost a kiss on her lips. Elena stretched further into him. Obviously wanting more. Damon withheld a chuckle.

Slowly he traced a finger from her temple down the side of her face, to her neck. He paused for a moment as he felt the blood pumping through her veins. He cursed at himself as he thought of his brother. But it was true, he didn't have to worry about losing control with Elena. Damon had his blood lust under control. If and when he ever fed from Elena, he would easily be able to retract his fangs and leave her alive. _Enough of that._ Damon pushed all thoughts of his brother from his mind. Instead, he focused on the person that was with him. The person that was warm, real, and laying in the bed next to him.

Focusing on his finger again, he continued its trail down her neck to her shoulder, where he pushed the thin strap of her pajamas off. Smirking as she shivered and leaned into him once again, he let his finger travel down her arm. The hairs on her arm rose as he finger traveled. Reaching her hand, he twined their fingers together. Elena nuzzled into his body, wanting to be closer to him even in her sleep.

Painfully slow, he released her fingers and let his hand glide over her body until his fingers played with the top hem of her bottoms. Elena giggled as he tickled her belly. Her eyes fluttered open, but fell shut once more. She was waking, but Damon wanted her to stay asleep just a little longer, so he let his hand rest on her hip. After he was pleased that she was asleep, his hand moved from her hip up under the silky material of her top. Tentatively touching her flesh as his hand lifted the silk further and further until he was able to tell she wasn't wearing a bra, he gently caressed the underside of her breasts with the back of his fingers. Damon was more than pleased when Elena moaned and arched her back slightly.

He watched as her mind became aware of what was going on and started to rouse her body awake. _Fine. You can wake up. It'll be more fun that way._ Damon waited for her eyes to open and as soon as they did, he leaned his head down and caught her lips.

Surprised yet still aware, Elena immediately kissed him back. Removing his hand from under her top, he wrapped his arm around her body and pulled her flush against him. She could feel his arousal through the material of his cotton pants. It was Damon's turn to moan as Elena aggressively rubbed her hips against him. _This woman will be the death of me; but we'll definitely have fun getting there!_

Not wasting the moment or giving Elena enough time to change her mind, Damon wrapped both his arms around her and shifted their bodies so that Elena was on top of him. She sat up as she straddled his waist. Damon tried to reach up and catch her lips in another kiss, but her hand on his chest pushed him back down on the bed. A full blown smirk covered his mouth as he watched her grind against him.

Running his hands up her thighs and then to her waist, he moved her body slowly against his own. Arching his hips against her as she ground into him as hard as she could, his smirk turned into a smile as she moaned once again, but this time it was his name that escaped her lips.

With his hands on her hips, he pulled at the top hem of her shorts. Lifting her weight, she tried to help him get the intruding garment off, but Damon just ripped the shorts and tossed them to the floor by the bed. Flipping them over so he was on top of her, he pulled at the hem of his own pants, while Elena tugged at his tank. Lifting his arms, he let Elena pull the tank over his head and it joined the shorts on the floor. While she tossed the tank, Damon relived himself of pants.

With dreamy eyes, he looked at her before dipping his head to her abdomen. Trailing kiss up her stomach, he pulled her shirt up as far as he could get it. Paying attention to each of her breasts for equal amounts of time, his tongue danced from nipple to nipple and back. With one last swirl of his tongue on her impossibly hard nipple, he returned his mouth to hers.

Positioned perfectly between her legs, he looked into her eyes. As much as he didn't want to, he gave her one last out before they went beyond the point of no return. No question in her eyes, Elena leaned forward and pulled him to her with her mouth. As Damon's body moved up Elena's, he entered her. Elena grimaced for a moment as her body adjusted to the sudden intrusion, but she quickly moved her hips with his.

Damon leaned forward to catch her lips one more time, and was thrown off his game he felt her hair in his mouth. Opening his eyes, he looked at a sleeping Elena next to him. Their legs were twisted together and she was fast asleep. One arm was wrapped around her while the other held her hand between them. Elena was nuzzled into his neck, with her other arm holding him as tightly as he was holding her. _I need to stop dreaming about reality. _

He certainly wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep after a dream as vivid as the one he'd been having, but he didn't want to leave the bed either. Looking toward the window, it was at least an hour or so before sunrise.

Damon laid in the bed wrapped up in Elena until about an hour after sunrise. Extracting himself from the bed without waking her up, he moved around the room. Getting himself dressed, he ordered up room service for Elena but asked for it to be delivered around nine.

When Elena woke up to an empty bed, her eyes searched the room trying to find any sign of Damon. _Where is he?_ Then she heard the sliding door that led to the private balcony open and a light breeze filled with fresh morning air filled the room. "Food's on its way." Damon whispered before disappearing back onto the balcony.

Elena took the hint and quickly used the bathroom, brushed her teeth and got dressed in the clothes that Damon had sent up for her the night before. A pair of low rise jeans with a short cut black baby doll tee. Elena opened the last box, not sure what to expect. She'd already had everything she needed as far as clothes. Inside was a white leather jacket, cut similar to his own black on, but more feminine. Elena smiled as she draped it over the back of a chair and answered the door when room service knocked. "Oh, I don't have a-"

"That's been taken care of already, Mrs. Salvatore." The young man smiled and left the cart by the small glass table. He dropped a single white rose into the glass vase then turned and left the room.

_Mrs. Salvatore?_ Elena didn't understand, but then Damon's story from the previous night jumped into her memory. He'd told them they had just eloped. _Of course, Mrs. Salvatore._ Elena surely liked the sound of it, but it also hurt her to think that her initial thought was to be Damon's wife and not Stefan's. She mentally scolded herself as she ate. She shouldn't have kissed Damon the morning before, and she certainly shouldn't have kissed him in the cemetery. And letting him kiss her in the parking lot of the bar was certainly not a good idea. Sleeping in the same room let alone the same bed as him was even worse. She dreaded the ride home. Dreaded it because it would either be filled with banter between herself and Damon – which she would thoroughly enjoy as she always did – or completely silent which would force her to think about the decisions she'd made in the last day and how they effected her relationship with not only Stefan but also with Damon.

As she finished her breakfast, she decided that she needed to talk with Stefan when they returned to Mystic Falls.

"Ready to go?" Damon asked, making his first appearance since telling her breakfast was on the way.

"Last bite." Elena nodded to the food in front of her, took the bite and got up from the table. She grabbed the leather jacket and found that Damon was already by the door, waiting for her. "Thank you. I love it."

Damon nodded, knowing all along that she would love it, but it was still nice to hear it from her. "Just remember who wore leather first." Damon opened the door for them to leave.

_I guess, it's a car ride filled with banter._ Elena followed Damon through the lobby and out the front door where his car was waiting for them. The valet handed Damon the keys and held Elena's door open for her.

As Elena guessed, they talked the entire way back to Mystic Falls. Neither touched on the subject of the previous night or of their kissing trysts. They were pulling into the driveway of the boarding house in record time. Damon started to open his door, but Elena's hand on his own stopped him. She looked at the door and Damon pulled it tightly closed. "I'm gonna talk to Stefan when we get inside." Damon quirked an eyebrow. "A lot has happened since yesterday, and I was serious about not letting go of what's right in front of me."

Damon thought for a moment. "Took you long enough." Damon smirked and got out of the car, but waited for Elena to cross the front of the car before heading toward the boarding house. He grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers together. Opening the front door with his other hand, he felt Elena jump as Alaric was standing right inside the door.

"I was just leaving." He looked down at their hands then back at Damon, whom smirked but released Elena's hand nonetheless. "Unless you need a referee?"

"Referee? For what?" Alaric glanced back down at their unintertwined hands. Damon's smirk spread a little further across his features. "Unless he's decided to suck down an entire hospital, I can handle him." Alaric nodded and walked out to his car. Elena looked at Damon, a question in her eyes. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"You were going to ask if Stefan was drinking human blood again?"

"Well, yea-"

"Yes." Damon didn't wait for a response as he walked into the den. "Got it under control this time, or should I send Elena somewhere safe?" Stefan glared at Damon, but nodded his head in answer. "Are you sure?" Damon asked as if Stefan were a child that couldn't decide if they were lying or not. Another glare. "There's a time out chair in the basement if you're a bad little boy."

"Damon." Stefan ground the word out through his teeth.

"Calm down. Calm down. Learn to take a joke."

"Now is not a time for jokes Damon. You disappear for a day with Elena while Katherine shows up here. There is enough to worry about without you adding to it."

"You worried? Should I feel special?" Damon joked as he took a seat on the couch. Elena sat down next to him while Stefan remained standing.

"I wasn't worried about you. Where did you take Elena? Why were you gone so long? Why didn't you tell me where you were? I sent numerous texts and tried calling but you didn't answer your phone, Damon!"

"Did I forget to tell you that I had your number blocked? Damn." Damon snapped his fingers, trying to playing it off. "I talked to dad though, and he said you were controlling your blood lust just fine."

"I didn't need Alaric babysitting me."

"You mean, vampsitting. Unless of course, you're admitting to being a baby; which I've known about for quite some-"

"Damon! Katherine was here!"

"I got that. Remember, we talked last night."

"Yea, I remember. I told you she wants the Guardians and you said to give her what she wants."

"No, I said, _we'd_ give her what she wants. She wants the Guardians, we'll hand 'em to her on a silver platter."

"They'll kill her." Stefan argued.

"Which she knows, and she's not dumb enough to walk into this blinded. She has something. Something that's obviously more powerful than the Guardians."

"What does she have?"

Damon put his hands to his temples. "Wait. Hold on. I'm getting a vision." Putting his hands up in defeat, "My crystal ball isn't working right now." He glared at Stefan. "How the hell should I know what she has? Up until a few months ago, I thought she was locked in the tomb under the church! Whatever it is, it's powerful. If she thinks she can take on the Guardians, they'll need help." Damon looked at Elena, but then with a look of realization, he turned back to Stefan. "Wait, so you finally believe me?"

"Yes." Stefan admitted in defeat.

"Would have been easier if you did from the beginning."

"What's your plan, Damon?"

"Like I said, give her what she wants." He his eyes back to Elena. "Can you bring Bonnie by later?"

"Do you really think she's strong enough to take on Katherine?" Elena wasn't following the entire conversation, but she didn't want to put her best friend's life on the line if they didn't even think she had a chance against Katherine.

"Not by herself. Katherine'll kill her without a second thought."

"And you're willing to risk Bonnie's life? For your precious Guardians?" Stefan interrupted the conversation between Elena and Damon.

"The only life I want to end is Katherine's. The bitch put three stakes in me. She _has_ to die. Can you bring the witch by or not?"

Elena nodded, and left the boarding house for Bonnie's house.

It was a short time later when Damon heard Elena's car pulling into the driveway followed by another car. He was outside before they even had the chance to turn off their engines. He motioned for the two of them to follow him into the back yard of the boarding house.

Once out back, Damon looked at Bonnie. "Give me your best, witch."

"What?"

Damon smirked and rolled his eyes at her. "Do I need to bring up how it's my fault your grams is dead to get you to try and kill me?"

Bonnie focused her mind on Damon and in a few short seconds he was in agonizing pain on the ground, clutching at his head to stop the evil sound inside it. Elena was just about to move to Damon's side, when suddenly the roles were reversed and Bonnie was on the ground while Damon started to rise from the ground, pain-free. He smiled as he looked down at her incapacitated body.

Elena looked up from the ground next to Bonnie to see Mickey walking out from the cover of the trees. Her hand was at her side, palm facing forward. "Not so much fun when your power gets turned on you, is it?" Mickey's hand dropped to her side and Bonnie's head stopped screaming, but still throbbed from the pain that was induced. "You're not the only witch in this town."

"I thought you were a vampire?" Elena asked from her stance next to Bonnie. She shot a glare at Damon, since he was obviously in on the pain that was dealt to her friend.

"I am, but I wasn't always." Looking directly at Bonnie, Mickey continued, "I can easily take Katherine down on my own, but Damon seems to think she has something more powerful than the Guardians."

"So what do you want with me?" Bonnie asked.

"I've had centuries upon centuries to practice and hone my craft. I've gained more strength in the last century that all the others put together. I've done it with one goal. Killing Katherine for locking up Adi; or allowing him to be locked up. Whatever she has will block me because of the blood in my veins, but if my power is inside you, well, Katherine won't stand a chance against the two of us."

"How do you plan on doing that? Getting your power inside me, that is?"

"We are witches, aren't we?" With a playful smile crossing her features, Mickey turned to Damon. "Setup your arrangements with Katherine. Kristof and I will be there." Then she was gone.

Damon nodded to Elena and walked around the side of the boarding house to the front door. He watched Elena walk Bonnie to her car and tried not to listen to their conversation, but there was nothing he could do to stop his ears from hearing.

"Come stay with me. You'll be just as safe." Bonnie begged her best friend to leave the boarding house and the Salvatore brothers.

"But they won't." Elena responded. Sure, she'd moved in because Damon wanted her to be safe, but by being there, she was keeping them all safe from Katherine.

"Be safe, Elena." Bonnie knew there was no changing Elena's mind once she made it up. "I don't trust either one of them."

"I know you don't, but I do." Elena hugged Bonnie, then walked back to the front door, meeting up with Damon.

"So you trust me?" Damon asked.

"I thought I made that obvious yesterday and last night."

Damon smirked, remembering his dream. "About that. I don't believe you stayed on your side of the bed."

Smiling back at him, "I don't believe you did either."

Rolling his eyes and shrugging his shoulders, Damon replied, "Did you really expect me to?"

Damon took her hand once again as they entered the boarding house, but released it when she looked at him and smiled; her eyes darted to Stefan's room upstairs.


	9. Salvatore Manor

A/N: okay, now that moving weekend is over, i can finally get back to getting some writing done...sorry for the long absence...but when help is needed in moving, i'm the first call for some odd reason...hopefully you guys are still out there...can't wait to see what you think of this chapter...so don't be bashful...hit the review button and let me know what you thought of this chapter...

-Reaper

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_**This was my worst love, you'll be the first to go...**_

Damon sat in the den while Elena headed for Stefan's room upstairs. Damon wasn't even sure he wanted to stay in the house. Stefan would be more than a little angry and with his recent choice to start drinking human blood again, Damon couldn't be positive of Stefan's reaction to the news Elena was giving him. He never asked what she was going to tell him, and didn't feel it was his place to ask. They hadn't decided to start "dating," but it was obvious that there was more than just an attraction between them.

Allowing himself to get lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the knock on the front door of the boarding house. He thought it was the first knock, but when another rap on the door quickly followed, he assumed it was at least the second. Opening the door, Damon was slightly shocked by what he saw on the other side. His tone was light and friendly, "Katherine, by all means," his tone quickly changed to malice, "do not come in"

"I take it your brother told you of my visit."

Damon smirked. "He may have mentioned something." Damon forced the bile that began to rise in the back of his throat down. A short time ago, he would have rejoiced in seeing Katherine's face, but now it only made him want to vomit.

"You're not seriously still angry with me, are you?" Katherine's voice was playful, joking at best.

"Gee, you staked me three times and expect me to just forget about it? Maybe after a nice grovel and begging to save your life."

Katherine shifted her weight from one foot to the other while putting her hands on her hips. "I don't grovel and I certainly don't beg."

"But you will. You've always been one for self preservation." Damon was studying her, hoping to find the secret she had stashed up her sleeve.

"So you're not going to help me get the Guardians? I thought you of all vampires would jump at this opportunity. With them gone, there is no one to keep us from taking the power we rightly deserve. Now invite me in so we can chat this over."

Lunging forward, Damon wrapped his hand around her thought and backed here against the stone column on the porch. "I already have all the power I need."

Katherine returned the gesture and grabbed Damon by the throat, backing him up against a different column. "Apparently not enough."

Damon, with his hand still around her neck, squeezed his grip. Katherine's own hand dropped from his throat. "Maybe not enough to kill you, but more than you'd expect." Damon shoved her body as he released her and quickly darted back to the safety of the boarding house. "Tomorrow night. Eleven. Where all of this started." Damon closed the door before Katherine could respond.

He walked back into the den, poured himself a drink and waited for Stefan's assault.

Elena was upstairs in Stefan's room, unaware of the events that were transpiring downstairs. She was more than a little distracted with the argument she was having with Stefan after informing him that she wanted to end their dating relationship. In all honesty, she still wanted to remain friends with him, but she didn't know if it was possible. "Please, don't." Elena tried to reach out to Stefan as he turned away from her.

Shrugging her hand off his shoulder, Stefan looked her in the eye. "Don't what, Elena? Is this because of Damon? Is this for him?"

"No, Stefan. This is for me." It was the truth. Elena was certain of her feelings for Damon, but it wasn't because of Damon or those feelings that she was breaking up with Stefan. She was doing what she felt was best for her.

"Do you even know what you want, Elena?"

"I do now." She spat back at him.

"Are you going to change your mind tomorrow?"

He was being cruel, and Elena could understand that. He needed to be angry. He had every right to be angry. "Stefan, we are perfect."

Stefan scoffed at her choice of words. With a huff, he asked, "So why are you breaking us up?"

"Because perfect doesn't work, Stefan. We never argue."

"You're breaking up with me because I don't argue with you?" Stefan couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes. We need to argue. We need to disagree. You need to let me learn how to get back up again, but you won't even let me fall!" Elena could hear her voice growing louder as the conversation went on. The last thing she wanted to do was yell at Stefan, but it seemed to be her only choice.

"Did Damon put this in you head?"

"No. Damon had nothing to do with this. Well, he was-"

"Elena, are you leaving me for Damon? Just answer that question." Stefan put his hands on either side of her face when he asked the question. Sincerity wrapped around his velvet voice.

"I won't lie to you and tell you I don't have feelings for Damon. I do. But no, I'm not leaving you for Damon."

Stefan smiled and removed his hands from her face before turning away from her. "I told him history wouldn't be repeating itself where you were concerned and here we are. Repeating Katherine all over again."

"No!" Elena shouted at him. She was not being Katherine. "I refuse to be like her! I'm not stringing you both along at the same time. That's why I'm trying to end this. Stefan, we aren't good for one another. Deep down you have to know that you can't always protect me. You can't always keep everything that's bad and evil from touching me."

"And I sure as hell won't let you walk into the arms of the Devil himself." Stefan darted from the room faster than Elena could even register him moving.

Grabbing his brother and pushing him against the wall, Stefan yelled, "Are you happy now? You've succeeded! You've torn her away from me. You've manipulated her mind!" Using all his strength, Stefan held Damon against the wall. "Where's all your strength now? The Power you talked about before? Hmm? You don't seem so strong to me!"

Damon refused to answer. Instead, he looked over Stefan's shoulder to see Elena entering the den. He wouldn't fight his brother. Not over Elena. Sure, he'd fight for her, but it was obvious he had won. Stefan made that crystal clear.

"Come on, Damon! Show me all your Power! Or were you just showing off! Flexing your fangs!"

"I'm not going to fight you." Damon finally responded.

"Why not? After all this time, everything we've been through; I figured you'd jump at the opportunity to hit me."

"I'm not going to fight you over Elena! It didn't turn out well the last time we did this!"

Stefan's grip slackened, but Damon didn't pull away. He waited for the realization to dawn.

Stefan stared at his older brother for a moment. Then he looked at his hands still pushing Damon against the wall, then back to Damon's face. He was right. They had fought over Katherine and Stefan was doing exactly what Damon had done 145 years ago. Stefan refused to spend the next century and a half fighting for the love of a woman he couldn't have. He released Damon from his grip as he turned his head away.

Damon fixed his shirt and looked at Stefan's back. "You need to conserve your strength. We go up against Katherine tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Damon quickly explained about her short trip and the conversation that passed between them. Looking to Elena, he instructed, "You'll need to call Bonnie. I'll call Kristof and Mickey."

The following day was slow. Excruciatingly slow. It couldn't move fast enough, and all Damon wanted was to get it over with. His home was full of people, and he just wanted peace and quiet. He wanted time to spend with Elena by themselves. He wanted everyone out, but instead he sat in his room fingering through the contents of his desk. Unlike Stefan's room, his desk was perfectly organized. Everything was in its place and if it didn't have a place, he chucked it into the hall as it didn't belong in his room. It was the third book flying into the hall that just missed hitting Elena.

"Damon? What are you doing?" She asked as she walked into his room.

"Getting rid of other people's crap!" Damon snapped, and kept his back to her.

Elena walked up behind him. She wanted to put her hands on his shoulders and try to sooth him, but didn't know if she should. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Damon's voice was quiet as he tried to get himself under control. He didn't want to bark at Elena. She'd done nothing to him and it wasn't fair to take his frustrations out on him.

"Damon, it's obvious there's something wrong. You haven't come out of your room all day."

Damon finally faced her. "I'm not my brother, Elena. I don't need to talk my problems out."

"You're right. You're not Stefan, but at least Stefan lets me in." Elena turned on her heel and headed for the door. She didn't know what to expect from Damon. She knew he had feelings for her. Even if Isobel hadn't bluntly told her he was in love with her, it couldn't have been more obvious; but then he'd go and shut himself out, as if no one in the world could understand him. She was trying to reach out to him, but he didn't seem to want to reach back.

And then he did. Damon grabbed her arm and twisted back into his embrace. Holding her close, his nose traced along the edge of her ear. "You're the only person I've let in, in a very long time, Elena. I'm not used to _sharing_, so you're gonna have to give me a break." Elena nodded against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. He watched as she pulled her head back and he leaned down to kiss her. She kissed him back.

Damon held her close as they kissed. He didn't want to stop, but knew they were going to have to leave the boarding house soon if they were going to meet Katherine. Ignoring the idea of his ex as soon as it entered his head, he pulled Elena closer as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Elena backed away from Damon first. "See, sometimes a hug makes everything better."

"I know what else would make it better." Damon waggled his eyebrows as he motioned toward his bed.

"I don't think there's enough time for that right now."

Damon draped his arm across her shoulder and started to take them toward the door. "You're right. We'll concentrate on that when we get back from killing Katherine."

Leaving Damon's room and walking downstairs, Damon dropped his arm from her shoulder but took her hand as they descended the steps. Hitting the landing at the bottom of the steps, everyone was standing there, waiting to leave. "So who's driving the Mystery Machine?" Damon asked and walked out the front door, still holding Elena's hand.

He missed the death glare Stefan threw at them. He missed the shocked look on Bonnie's face. He missed the smirk on Mickey's face. He missed the scowl Kristof was wearing. He missed the chuckle that escaped Alaric's lips when he saw Stefan glaring at the couple.

Once outside, Elena agreed to ride with Bonnie, and Mickey quickly jumped in Bonnie's car as well. That left Stefan, Alaric and Kristof getting into Damon's car while Damon impatiently waited to leave.

Taking the lead, Damon pulled out of the driveway of the boarding house. It took Bonnie a little bit of time to get used to the speed Damon was driving, but since he hadn't told her where they were going, she was forced to keep up with him.

"You're kidding, right?" Stefan asked as he watched Damon pull into the deserted drive of the ruined Salvatore Manor.

"This is where it all started. This is where it should all end." Damon turned the car off and got out. Bonnie, Elena and Mickey quickly joined the group. "She'll be here soon. We should get ready."

"If she's not here already." Kristof added.

"We'd know if she were here." Stefan spat as he watched Elena walk with Bonnie and Alaric to a group of trees just off tot he side from where the final showdown was going to take place. He waited there with Mickey, Kristof and Damon for Katherine to arrive.

It was nearly an hour later when they finally saw Katherine walk out of the woods dragging something behind her. Stopping a few hundred yards from the group, she was concentrating on one of the old columns that was still intact. Whatever she was doing, it didn't take her long and she started to walk toward the group once again, no longer dragging anything behind her.

"Why shouldn't we just kill you here and now?" Kristoff asked, knowing that even though he was speaking in a normal tone, she could still hear him.

"I'd like to see you try." She raised her hand and waved at Damon.

That was when he noticed it. Her diamond in the rough. Johnathan Gilbert's ring was on her finger.

"Where's our brother?" Kristof's voice was louder and anger was more evident in it.

Katherine nodded backward toward the column she had paused at moments before. It was now that they realized she'd tied Adi to the column. "The ropes have been soaked in vervain and I haven't been very forthcoming with blood, so he's not even strong enough to walk."

"We _will_ kill you for doing this to him." Kristof was getting angrier and angrier as the seconds ticked by.

"Again, I'd like to see you try."

Nodding her head, Mickey winked at Katherine. Without a word, she raised her hand, palm out toward Katherine.

As Katherine started to move forward, intent on taking down the Guardians once and for all, her step faltered. "That's not possible."

"Just keep telling yourself that." Mickey finally spoke.

While Katherine was momentarily disabled by the combined powers of Bonnie and Mickey, Kristof and Damon ran to get Adi free. To his best ability, Adi tried to fight them off, but he wasn't strong enough to speak or stop them. Trying to force them away with his arms, they ignored him, figuring he was delirious and didn't know what was going on.

Pulling him up from the column, they didn't make it three feet before an explosion sent them in different directions. Damon hit a tree and sagged to the base, while Kristof and Adi actually landed inside two tall pine trees. Their weight and the force of the explosion caused the roots to quake and slowly the trees began to fall.

Distracted by the explosion, Mickey looses her focus and Katherine takes the opportunity to break free from her hold. Immediately heading for Elena because of Damon's broken promise of delivering the Guardians, Katherine was a mere few feet from getting exactly what she wanted before she was pulled back and away from Elena. Grasping her by the arms, Stefan threw her with all his might against a tree and chased after her. Keeping himself between Katherine and Elena, he used all of the power he'd been building up inside from the human blood to foolishly take Katherine on by himself.

Damon slowly got up from the base of the tree he was knocked against just in time to miss the falling twin pine trees that held Kristof and Adi. He watched Kristof get up from the ground. Nodding to Adi, Damon motioned for Kristof to take care of him while Damon tried to assist his brother. As he turned and started for Katherine, he watched her plunge a steel stake into Stefan's chest.

"The stake was always meant for you. Damon simply got in my way before." The muttered words were hard for anyone to hear as Katherine's face was right next to Stefan's as she saw the look of panic in his eyes. He didn't understand how a steel stake could do the damage he felt inside his body. There had to be more to it, but that wasn't important. Elena was. Stefan turned and watched Katherine stalk toward the trio hiding in the trees. He watched Alaric step in front of Elena and Bonnie. He watched Bonnie try to stop Katherine, but she just wasn't strong enough.

In a blur, Damon appeared between Katherine and the humans. Damon grabbed Katherine and in pure hatred, threw her as hard as he could against one of the oak trees not too far from Elena. A single branch protruded from Katherine's chest. A single, wooden branch pierced through her heart. But Katherine wasn't dying. Instead, she was pulling herself from the tree. _The ring_. It was protecting her.

Katherine began to squirm in pain as Bonnie approached the tree with Mickey at her side. With a smirk on her face, Mickey walked up to Katherine and yanked the ring from her finger. "This is for Adi and Damon, bitch!"

The next thing Stefan knew, he was being carried from the ground to Damon's car. It took a moment for him to register that it was Damon carrying him. His brother. The heartless vampire he'd hated for so long was carrying him to safety. Trying to make him safe. Trying to make him better.

Damon put Stefan in the back seat of the car while Alaric jumped into the driver's seat and started for the boarding house. The trip was a blur of trees and an occasional glimpse of the moon shining above them. Stefan felt the car come to a halt and assumed they were just outside the door of the boarding house. He was right, and Damon was outside the car, pulling Stefan's body with him. Alaric held the door open as Damon carried Stefan's body intot he den and set him down on the floor by the large fireplace.

"How the hell can a steel stake do this much damage?" Alaric asked.

Stefan wanted to yelp in pain as he felt the stake being removed from his body. "It's vervain." That was Damon's voice.

"What's vervain?" Alaric again, asking a question.

"Inside the stake. She had a branch of vervain. The wood."

"He's dying."

Stefan was barely holding on. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up. But he knew if he did close his eyes, they would never open again. So he forced himself to stay awake. He forced himself to fight for just one last look at Elena. "Elena?" Stefan didn't even recognize his own voice. He watched as Damon looked around the room, then focused on one person.

"Where's Elena?"

"I thought she rode with you." That was Bonnie's voice, Stefan could recognize Elena's best friend anywhere. But he still couldn't find Elena.

"No! Alaric was the only one to ride with us."


	10. I'm Sorry

A/N: i apologize for the length of time it has taken me to get this chapter out...some of you that watch me on deviantart might know that my housemate was in a horrible car accident last weekend...she was in really bad shape...she doesn't have family, so i'm pretty much the closest thing she has to family...so i didn't have much time this week to get writing done...between work, the hospital and sleep, i haven't really done much...i'll be honest and say that i'm not sure when the next chapter will get out...jesse is home now and doing much better, but my schedule is gonna be a little crazy for a bit...other than that...here's the chapter...hope you like it!

-Fen

* * *

Damon looked back at Stefan's body and then to Alaric. "Take her," he motioned to Bonnie, "and go back to the Manor. Elena has to be there."

"What are you going to do?" Alaric looked at Stefan then back to Damon.

"Without the proper treatment, he's going to die."

"What's the proper treatment?"

"Just help me get him to the car." Alaric helped Damon lift Stefan and carefully walk him out to the car so he wouldn't injure Stefan further.

"What about Elena? What if she's not there?" Bonnie followed the vampire and history teacher outside.

"Then I'll find her when I'm done. Just go back to the manor and search for her there." Damon got into the driver seat and sped away from the boarding house. There was only one place he could think to go. Only one place where Stefan could be healed.

Pulling into the driveway of an abandoned manor house with the lights on, Damon got out of the car and began pulling Stefan out as well when he felt someone behind him and then quickly next to him; helping pull Stefan out. Turning to see where the assist was coming from, he saw Adi standing there putting his arms around Stefan. "You recover quickly."

"Damon, we need to-"

Damon looked back toward the manor house to see Mickey walking out to where they stood. "Mickey! Stefan's dying. You need to help him."

Mickey sighed and hung her head slightly as she began walking to the car. Motioning for Adi to set Stefan down, she squatted on the ground in front of Stefan's limp body. Quickly taking in his injuries, she could smell the vervain coursing its way through his veins. "You're right. He _is_ dying." Mickey rose from the ground and looked squarely at Damon. "But there's nothing I can do. I can't help you."

"Yes you can! I was worse off than him and you saved me."

Mickey shoved Damon back against the car and got up in his face. "You still had more to do. He's," she motioned to Stefan on the ground next to them, "given in to the blood lust. If I save him, I'll just have to kill him later."

"There has to be something you can do." Damon whispered, knowing he didn't need to speak any louder for Mickey to hear him.

"I'm sorry." Mickey's voice was just as much of a whisper as she backed off and let Damon stand straight. "I with there was something I could do."

"Damn it." Damon cursed as he ran a hand through his hair. His head dropped as he thought to himself. "It was supposed to be me."

Mickey was confused. "I head Katherine. She wanted to kill Stefan; even when she attacked you."

With a laugh and a smirk, Damon responded, "Not that. I was supposed to be the one to kill him. I promised myself and him that much."

Adi smirked at Damon's comment. "You still have time to make good on that."

Remembering that she had wanted to talk with Damon when he arrived, Mickey interrupted Damon's thoughts. "I am glad you came, Damon. There is something I need to tell you."

Surprised by her subject change, Damon motioned for Mickey to continue.

"Kristof has Elena."

"What?" Of all the things that Mickey could have said, that was the last thing Damon expected her to say. That plus the simple fact that one of the Guardians was responsible for Elena's disappearance and that it was obvious Kristof wasn't with Mickey and Adi, made Damon's blood boil.

"It's been his plan all along. Ever since he met Elena. He's been planning to help you kill Katherine so he could turn Elena. He plans on having her assume Elena's identity so he can use her to search out the vampires that are planning another uprising against us."

"And you didn't feel the need to share this with me sooner?"

"I didn't think he was serious until he actually took Elena." Mickey argued.

"How did he take her? She wouldn't just go without saying something. Especially with Stefan's current condition."

"He told her he would take her to Jeremy."

Damon shook his head. That was definitely something that would override her concern for Stefan. "Where is he now? Where's Elena?"

"I don't know." Mickey truly didn't know where Kristof had taken her. "You know I'd tell you if I did."

Damon sighed again and ran his hand through hair.

"But we can help you find him." Adi looked at Damon with sure eyes. "He's a Guardian. We'll be able to sense when we're close to him, and with Mickey's added Power, she should be able to get a general location on him."

"Why help me now?" Damon couldn't believe that Mickey wouldn't let him in Kristof's plans. She sat aside and let Elena get captured.

"As Guardians, we're supposed to protect human life. We're not supposed to kill it."

Damon looked at Mickey. "But you were willing to burn an entire town."

"That was to protect the world from Katherine. It was deemed necessary."

"_And_ get him back."

Mickey nodded her head. "Yes, and get him back." Mickey took Adi's hand in her own and smiled sheepishly at Damon.

"You blade, please." Damon watched at Mickey darted into the manor house and quickly returned with her scimitar.

Mickey extended her hand and gave Damon the blade. Both she and Adi nodded their heads to Damon before turning and walking back to the manor house.

Damon moved to Stefan whom was still slouched against the car. Lifting him up with one hand, Damon tossed Stefan over his shoulder before walking to a large half ruined structure a few hundred feet away from the driveway. Setting Stefan's dying body on the ground, he leaned him up against the crumbling wall.

Damon lifted the scimitar and looked at the blade before looking back to Stefan. He wasn't one for chick flick moments and wasn't planning on making Stefan's last moments alive unreal. He raised the blade, but stopped when Stefan spoke.

"Thank you for trying." Stefan was barely able to get the words out of his mouth. He knew he was dying, and he knew it couldn't be avoided. "You're not as bad as I thought, I guess."

Damon smirked. "I'd save you just so I could be the one to kill you."

Stefan smiled; that was the Damon he knew. "Take care of her."

"I already am."

Stefan nodded at his brother, and Damon swung the blade.

Leaning down, he looked at the beheaded body of his brother. "I'll come back for you later, Stefan. The least I owe you is a proper burial, but I need to get Elena first."


	11. Spidey Senses

A/N: i know it's been awhile, but things are finally starting to settle down here...and YES, this is a short chapter, but i'm working on the next one right now...so leave a review and let me know what you think about this one while i work on the next one...

-Fen

* * *

"How do we kill Kristof?" Damon asked as he rejoined Mickey and Adi.

"It's not possible." Adi's face was an easy read for Damon, and he could tell the Guardian wasn't lying.

"What'd you mean?"

"For the past few centuries, there have only been two vampires capable of killing Kristof." Mickey started to explain as the trio got into Damon's car. "Our father, the First; but none of us know if he's even alive anymore. Even if he was, I wouldn't know where to start looking for him."

"And the second?" Damon put the car in drive and started moving away from his brother's rotting body.

"The second was Katherine."

Damon slammed on the brakes and turned to look at Mickey in the back seat. "You mean to tell me that you knew he was going to take Elena, and allowed me to kill the one vampire that could have stopped him!" Damon didn't even wait for a response from either of the two Guardians. "Get out. I'll find him myself!"

"Damon, if you find him, he will kill you."

"Then I'll die trying to save Elena."

"Damon, I don't know you very well," Adi spoke, "but I can tell that you love Elena. If you have the slightest idea that she might just love you in return, are you really willing to take away any chance you might have with her because you're angry at Mickey? Don't take that anger out on Elena. Let us help you."

Damon thought about it for a moment. Stefan was dead. No one else would be able to explain that to Elena. No else would be there for Elena after all this was over.

Pulling out his cell phone, Damon starting typing out a message. "We're gonna do this _my_ way." Damon dropped his phone in the console and started driving again.

It didn't take long for them to get to the boarding house. Damon noticed that Alaric's car was already parked in the drive. Shifitng his car into park, he was out the door and into the boarding house before Adi or Mickey could even ask what they were doing there.

"I need your ring." Damon demanded as he walked into the den of the boarding house.

Alaric and bonnie both jumped at Damon's sudden appearance. "What? What do you need my ring for?"

"Protection. Come on. Give it." Damon put his hand out waiting for Alaric to hand over the ring.

"What are you going to do? Where's Stefan?"

"He's dead, now give me the ring." Damon was quickly losing his patience. Why wouldn't the history teacher just give him the damn ring?

"He's dead? How?"

"Alaric, I don't have time to explain everything. I need to get Elena, and in order to do that, I need your ring."

"You know where Elena is?"

Damon tried to calm himself down. He really didn't want to hurt the guy he was beginning to consider a friend. "I'll explain everything later. Right now, I just need your ring."

Bonnie didn't trust Damon, and the way he was acting were certainly not making her trust him any more than before. When Damon started to move toward Alaric, she used her powers to stop him. Damon grabbed at his head in sheer agony.

"Didn't I make it clear to you that I don't like it when you do that?" Mickey and Adi walked into the room and Mickey quickly turned Bonnie's powers against her.

Alaric realized that he and Bonnie were outnumbered, and if push came to shove, with the look in Damon's eyes, Alaric could possibly lose his life if he didn't do what Damon asked. "Here." Alaric pulled the ring off his finger just as Mickey released Bonnie. "What do you want us to do?"

Damon took the ring from Alaric and tossed it to Adi. "Stay here. If we're not back before tomorrow morning, get everyone you care about far away from here."

Turning his back to Alaric and Bonnie, he walked back out to his car with Mickey and Adi right behind him. "What do you want me to do with this?" Adi sat down in the front seat after Mickey slid into the backseat.

"I'd think that was obvious. Put it on." Damon rolled his eyes. "If we're gonna take on Kristof, we're gonna need all the help we can get." Damon reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a matching ring; which he quickly slid on his own finger. "Now, if the two of you would be so kind. Turn on your spidey senses so we can find Elena."


	12. Misplaced Emotion

A/N: alright...here's the next one...i said i was working on it and it wouldn't be long...hopefully a day isn't too long! ...i think there's one more chapter after this one which will be more of an epilogue/sum it all up...happy everyone's stuck in here with me...

-Fen

* * *

It didn't take as long as Damon thought it would to find Kristof. In fact, it was almost like he wanted to be found by his siblings. As if he wanted them to join him; that they would want to work with him.

Once he realized they were with Damon, he used Elena as a shield; preventing them from moving on him further. "Kristof, you can't really think turning her will solve all our problems. We were created to save human life, and now you're gonna take one."

Damon sniffed the air and could tell that Elena was still human, but he couldn't be sure if she'd be forced to drink Kristof's blood. He smirked at the irony of the situation. Less than six months before, he'd been in the same circumstance, except he had been the one holding Elena hostage against Stefan and threatening to turn "their" girlfriend. It wasn't as much fun being on the receiving end. Damon actually regretted having done it to Stefan.

"Father would not approve, Kristof." Adi's words pulled Damon from his thoughts.

"By turning her, we can put an end to the fighting amongst all vampires!" Kristof began to argue. "Katherine was one of the most powerful and influential vampires. She had a plan to-" Kristof interrupted himself. Shaking his head, he continued, "With her out of the picture, Elena can assume her identity and infiltrate them."

"You're not turning Elena into Katherine!" Damon couldn't hold the words in his mouth; even though both Adi and Mickey told him to remain quiet before they got out of the car. "She's not her and never will be. I won't allow you to do that!"

"Then you'll just have to be taken out of the picture too."

Damon moved to charge at Kristof in an impromptu attack, but Mickey stepped in front of him, stopping him. "You'll have to kill me first." Mickey boldly stood up against her eldest brother.

"You're willing to give up your own life for him?"

"Call it insanity. Call it friendship. Call it motherly instinct, but I won't stand aside and let you kill him."

"I won't either." Adi stepped next to Mickey. He was the oldest Guardian next to Kristof, and therefore the most capable of hurting him.

"Misplaced emotion will get you nowhere, Adolf."

"Nothing in me is misplaced, Kristof, but I fear you've misplaced your humanity. Otherwise, you'd never think this is justified."

"The world has changed since you were put in that tomb."

"I've seen that, but humanity hasn't. Guardians shouldn't. Kristof, it's our responsibility to make sure mortal life isn't sacrificed. Unfortunately, that's exactly what you're doing now."

"I'm killing one to save thousands. Millions. Billions more."

"But you're still killing one."

Damon was getting antsy. Kristof still had Elena, and his grip hadn't slackened with the conversation. Damon watched as Adi took Mickey's hand. Mickey stretched out her other hand and propelled all the power the two of them could muster at Kristof.

Kristof's knees bent and his hand left Elena's waist. Damon took the opportunity and swopped in the grab Elena, but just as he reached her Kristof fought off Mickey's attack and regained control over the situation. "You didn't think it would be that simple, did you?"

Damon heard the words leave Kristof's mouth as he grabbed Elena's hand. Damon wasn't going to let go of her hand either. Quickly tugging on her arm, he caught Kristof off guard. What vampire would go up against a Guardian? _An insane one_. Damon pulled Elena away from Kristof and twirled her around so his arm was wrapped around her instead of Kristof's.

"You didn't think I'd give up without a fight, did you?" Damon glared at Kristof. He'd never really liked the Guardian. He always seemed just a bit too protective and secretive.

Damon's glare didn't have the effect he had hoped because Kristof thrust his fist forward and hit Damon in the chest, knocking him backwards. Damon didn't let go of Elena and the two fell to the ground; Elena on top.

Stalking forward to throw another assault at Damon, Kristof was stopped when Adi and Mickey appeared in front of the couple on the ground.

Adi caught Kristof's fist before it connected with Damon's head. "I think I made it clear that you'd have to go through me to get to him." Adi shoved Kristof's fist back at him.

Kristof stumbled a few feet backward, obviously caught off guard by the fact that Adi was not only standing up to him, but that he was showing signs of being stronger than him. "You spend a century and a half in a tomb and all of a sudden you don't take orders any more?"

"I've only ever taken orders from one person. Father. It just so happens that those orders came through you. You're the one that's change in this century and a half. You never would have killed a human before to make our lives easier."

Kristof smirked at Adi as he ready himself for a charge. Using his excelled speed, he moved at Adi and struck as hard as he could. Adi flew thirty yards backwards with the impact, but immediately rose from the ground.

Mickey moved in front of Damon and Elena as Damon tried to get them up from the ground. Not taking her eyes from Kristof, she spoke to Damon, "Get out of here. We'll take care of this."

Damon nodded, even though Mickey couldn't see him. Getting up, he pulled Elena up from the ground. Supporting her weight, he started in the direction of the car. He could hear Kristof attack Mickey, but he didn't turn his head to see what was going on. He needed to get Elena out of the line of fire. They were a few yards from the car, when Damon could hear Kristof coming from behind. "Go! Run! Get in and drive! Get out of here!" Damon pushed Elena toward the car and turned to take the attack that he could feel coming.

Spinning around, he crouched low in a defensive stance. Kristof was airborne as Damon spun, but before he could land his attack, Damon watched as his body was thrown back. Another vampire sinking his fangs into Kristof's neck. Instinct overtook Damon, and he launched himself at Kristof as well, sinking his fangs into the other side of Kristof's neck.

He could feel the power circulating through his body as Kristof's blood flowed into his mouth. When Kristof was near death, Damon retracted his fangs and pulled the other vampire off him as well. "He doesn't deserve to die at our hands." The red eyes of the other vampire recognized what Damon meant and backed away.

Mickey and Adi moved in and pulled Kristof from the ground. "We'll take care of this. Get back to Elena." Damon nodded and pulled at the other vampires arm to make him follow.

Walking toward the car that Elena was sitting in but unable to move, Damon looked over at the vampire walking next to him. "Why? How?"

"She's my sister. Did you think I wouldn't know she was in danger?" Jeremy smiled as he got in the back seat of Damon's car.

Damon opened the driver's door and Elena stepped out. "How 'bout I drive?"

"Yea." Elena walked around to the other side of the car and got in the passenger seat.

Before Damon turned the car on, he looked at Elena. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you?"

"No. He said he was taking me to Jer, then we came here. He said he was gonna-"

"It's okay, Elena. You're safe now." Jeremy said from the backseat as he leaned forward and put his hand on his sister's shoulder.

Damon nodded, and turn the car on. He thought about telling Elena about Stefan, but figured she should rest first. She was already upset and quite shaken; there was no need to add to that.

The car ride back to the boarding house was made in silence. Damon got out and helped Elena out of the car and into the house. Jeremy was right behind them, but found himself unable to walk through the front door. "Uh, Lena. A little help?"

Elena turned to see her brother on the other side of the threshold. "Jeremy, come in." She smiled and allowed Damon to take her into the den.

Jeremy followed and was a little surprised to see Mr. Saltzman and Bonnie already waiting.

Damon got Elena to one of the couch's then walked over to Alaric. "Wear this one until I get yours back." Damon handed him John Gilbert's ring that Katherine had stolen.

"Where are the others?" Alaric asked as quietly as possible.

"They're taking care of Kristof." Damon answered and walked to the dry bar to pour himself a drink.

The glass was almost full when Elena's voice pierced the air. "Where's Stefan?"

Damon slung the glass up and swallowed the contents in one gulp. He'd been hoping to wait to give her that news. He turned around to see Alaric's questioning face. Shaking his head from side to side, he appreciated the offer, but knew he had to be the one to give Elena this news. Sitting down in the chair across from the couch Elena was sitting on, Damon sighed but looked Elena in the eyes. He almost wished he didn't kill Stefan just so he wouldn't have to be the one to give her the news. "Stefan's dead." Damon didn't want to beat around the bush. Not with this.

Tears immediately sprung into Elena's eyes, and Damon wished he could stop right there, but he knew he owed it to Stefan to tell her the whole story. "The stake Katherine used was a sure fire way to kill a vampire; with a core of vervain."

"So Katherine killed him?" The events of the past evening were very blurry to Elena. So much had happened, she almost forgot that they killed Katherine.

"No." All eyes turned their attention. "I did." Damon hated the look of disgust that came across Elena's face. He never wanted her looking at him that way, but he couldn't lie to her. Not about Stefan's death. "I asked Mickey to save him. She couldn't. So instead of-"

"Bonnie, can you take me home?" Elena interrupted Damon. She couldn't stand to be in the same room as him right now. It was just too much. "I can't stay here." Elena refused to make eye contact with Damon as Bonnie escorted her out of the house. Bonnie couldn't hide the grin on her face. Elena was finally getting the Salvatore brothers out of her life.

Damon looked at Alaric. "I had no choice. He wanted me to-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Remember, I saw him before you left."

Damon nodded at his friend. Yes. His friend. Alaric was his friend. "Go with them?"

"I'll keep an eye on her. I'm sure Jenna will be happy to have her home again."

"Thank you."

Alaric nodded as he walked out of the room and headed for the Gilbert house.

Damon poured himself another drink, and sat back down on the chair as he sipped on the scotch. "What are you gonna do now?" Jeremy asked.

Startled, Damon had forgotten that Jeremy was still there. He just assumed he had left with Elena. "I could use a little help. I need to bury Stefan properly."

"Where is he?"


	13. Welcome Home

A/N: here it is...the last chapter! ...thank you to ALL of my reviewers...i've been trying to respond to each review, but i know i've missed a few along the way...hope you all enjoy...the title and idea was born from the song of the same title by Radical Face...excellent song...and listened to it on repeat while i wrote this entire chapter...definitely worth the 99 cents on itunes (i'm an itunes junkie)...until my next fic...i love you all...review if you have the time...

-Reaper  
xo

* * *

Elena was barely out of Bonnie's car when she turned to her friend, "I'm gonna go right to bed. You don't need to come in." Elena hated being rude, but she really didn't want to be bothered with people. She'd barely escaped the night with her life, and then found out that Stefan was dead. By Damon's hand. There was no one that could comfort her.

On the second step of her front porch, she heard another car pull into the driveway. Not wanting company, she turned to tell the intruder to go back home, but Alaric's concerned face changed her mind. He met her at the steps. "I figured I could divert Jenna's attention so you could escape to your room." He half smiled.

"Thank you." Elena returned to the steps and opened the front door.

"Elena? Jeremy?" Jenna called from the kitchen.

"Alaric." Alaric called back. Shooing Elena up the stairs to her bedroom, he walked into the kitchen to find Jenna finishing up a quick breakfast. "Elena, too."

"Elena's back? Where is she?" Jenna tried looking around Alaric.

"She's pretty tired. You should let her sleep."

Jenna questioned him with her eyes, but accepted his excuse. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I gave Elena a ride." Alaric couldn't think of anything else quickly. He just hoped Jenna wouldn't question Elena about it later.

"You were at the Salvatore's too?"

Alaric nodded and smirked a Damon worthy smirk. "I was helping Damon."

"He seems to be quite the friend maker lately." Jenna commented and offered some of her breakfast to Alaric, whom gladly accepted after his long night.

Elena tossed and turned in her bed all day. She couldn't fall asleep for more than a few minutes at a time. Her mind was swirling with the events that encompassed the last hours. The longer she lay there thinking about everything, the more she dreaded the way she treated Damon at the boarding house. Over the last few months, she really came to think of him as a friend, and after his near death experience at Katherine's hand, she realized she cared about him more than she originally thought.

Damn that woman. That vampire! If Katherine never came to Mystic Falls, none of this would have happened. She would still be with Stefan. Stefan would be alive, and Damon would still be cracking provocative jokes. Elena frowned at that thought. She never would have met Mickey or had the "life changing" conversation. She never would have realized that Stefan wasn't her perfect match, but her perfect friend.

If Katherine never came to Mystic Falls, everything would be as it was, and as much as Elena wanted everything to be normal again, she was grateful it wasn't. Did she wish death upon Stefan? No. God, Stefan was dead. They hadn't even known each other a year and dated even less, but Stefan had become an overwhelmingly large part of her life in the short time he'd been there. A new wave of tears assaulted Elena. She couldn't hold them in.

All she wanted was to be wrapped up in strong arms, and told everything would be okay. The only strong arms in her house were Alaric's and she figured that would be a little awkward for them both. So instead she lay in her bed, crying and sobbing; unable to control herself. It was too much to deal with. The fact that she couldn't fall asleep didn't help either. If only she could fall asleep. If only...

Elena sat up in her bed and looked out the window. The day had passed; the moon was shining in her window. Rain was gently tapping on the window pane. How long had she been in that bed? Was it only a day? Was it longer? She wasn't hungry or thirsty. She wasn't tired or exhausted. No, none of those. The only thing that explained her current state was aching. She ached everywhere. Inside and out. Looking over at the clock on her night stand, she read the numbers. 2:30am. How did so much time pass without her even noticing?

Elena knew there was only one way she was ever going to get sleep. She needed someone that could comfort her after everything she'd been through. Someone that had been through the same. Someone that hurt the same way she did. Someone that could understand without explanation. There was only one person who fit that bill. Putting her feet on the floor and rising from her bed, Elena pulled her black leather jacket from the back of the chair beside her door and walked down the flight of stairs to the first floor.

The house was silent and dark. The darkness invited her, but she ignored it's soundless beckon. Grabbing her car keys, she opened the front door and started for the steps. She lifted her head as her foot hit the first step. The first thing she noticed was the rain wasn't gently coming down. It was flooding the sky. As she looked into the front yard, her body froze; her foot still on the first step.

Through the pouring rain, she saw him stalking through the yard toward her. His face was more serious than she'd ever seen it. His step didn't falter as he moved closer and closer to the front porch. Climbing the steps with ease, he stop when he was eye level with her. His body leaned closer, then swayed backward like a sheet on an old clothesline. Elena couldn't tear her eyes away from his face. "I was just coming-"

"I know." Damon knew what she was going to say, because he felt the same way. Leaning forward, he pulled her lips to his own and pushed his tongue forcefully into her mouth. Her hands reached up to his cheeks as he pulled back from her. "Your room. Now."

Before Elena could even turn around, he disappeared. Elena quickly walked back into her house, dropped her keys in their usual spot and climbed the stairs. She had never once wanted to be in her room more than she did at that moment.

Opening the door to her bedroom, he was already waiting for her. The window shut and his soaking jacket tossed on the chair by the door. Elena removed her own jacket and tossed it on top of his. Damon waited next to her bed. Whether his feet were rooted to the spot, or he was waiting for her consent, Elena couldn't tell.

Slowly, she walked across the room and stood in front of him. "No one can-"

Again Damon interrupted her, but this time, he kept the words from leaving his mouth. Instead, he used his experienced tongue to say what they were both thinking. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up enough to wrap her legs around his waist.

Damon supported her weight by wrapping his strong arms around her. A second later, he had her pinned against the wall; their mouths still attacking each other.

Clearing a portion of her dresser off with her hand, Elena used the empty space to support her weight while she pulled at the waistband of her pajamas shorts. Keeping one arm around her, Damon pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the direction of the chair by the door. Elena her waistband around the backs of her knees as she started on the buckle to Damon's pants. As soon as her fingers completed their task, Damon relieved them of their duty so he could pull her shirt up and over her head. Her bra was easily yanked from her body and added to the pile of clothes on the chair.

Wiggling so his pants fell, Damon wasted no time and pushed himself into Elena as he captured her mouth to drown out the inevitable moan. Starting with a slow pace, Damon kept Elena's mouth entwined with his own. She quickly matched his pace, using the dresser to steady herself.

Letting his hands drift over her body in exploration, Damon finally let them rest on her waist, but only so he could lift her weight and pull her backward. Once his knees hit the bed, he allowed her weight to drop them onto the bed.

While Elena began to quicken the pace, Damon kicked off his shoes, shimmied his pants down his legs and massaged her breasts, until finally she bent down to capture his lips in another breathtaking kiss.

He was the only one that could erase her fear, anguish and the aching of her heart. Elena knew it when she snapped at him and stormed out of the boarding house, but she refused to admit it to herself. He was the only one that could possibly understand what she was going through. He was the only one that loved Stefan as much as she did. But in the throes of passion, Stefan never entered Elena's head. She was solely focused on the vampire in her bed. The vampire consoling her the best way he knew how. The vampire she had fallen in love with. She'd admitted it to herself on numerous occasions, now it was time to admit it to him.

Elena pulled back slightly; Damon felt her body tense up. As her mouth opened to speak, he flipped them on the bed and pushed himself as deep as he could, but didn't continue their rhythm. Instead, he held her face between his hands and smiled. A true smile. Not one of his snarky grins that was going to be followed up with a sarcastic comment about the situation they found themselves in. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight coming in the window, and Damon took a moment to realize that the rain had stopped outside.

"I love you." Both mouths moved at the same time, and both grins appeared simultaneously.

Damon placed the softest of kisses on her lips while he resumed their preset pace. He felt Elena's body tense again, and this time it wasn't because she was admitting her love for him. Placing three long, deep strokes inside her, he felt her orgasm around him. Twisting them around the bed one last time, he thrust one last time before he orgasmed himself.

Pulling them into a more comfortable position on the bed, Damon wrapped his body around Elena as she snuggled into his neck and closed her eyes. Reaching for the sheet, he pulled it up over their bodies. "Elena."

Her eyes fluttered open at his soft voice. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out."

"I shouldn't have told you Stefan was-"

"Dead. I remember the fight. He put himself between Katherine and me. He knew what he was doing. What he was risking."

"I took him to Mickey. I thought she could save him like she saved me."

"Not everyone can be saved." Elena closed her eyes as she snuggled further into Damon's body. "Jeremy?"

"At the boarding house." Damon whispered as he closed his own eyes and wrapped his strong arms tightly around her body.

Jenna woke up the following morning and started making breakfast. She started up the stairs as Alaric walked out of her bedroom. "Breakfast is almost ready. I was just gonna see how Elena was doing. Hopefully she got some sleep."

Alaric was closer to her bedroom door, and cracked it open slightly. He quickly shut the door when he saw Damon wrapped around Elena. "Still sleeping. We should let her rest." Alaric hustles Jenna back down the stairs to the kitchen.


End file.
